Adidas is expanding its footprint in volleyball with a multiyear partnership with League One Volleyball (LOVB), the largest youth volleyball business in the U.S., with a pro women’s league launching in November.
The relationship will start with Adidas outfitting LOVB’s pro and club athletes for the upcoming season.
LOVB’s first season will feature teams in six markets: Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Omaha and Salt Lake.
LOVB and Adidas will enlist LOVB’s Athlete Council – who have 14 Olympic medals and multiple World Champions titles amongst them – to provide direct input into the pro uniform design process, while both LOVB pro athletes and club juniors will be invited into designing the next generation volleyball shoe.
In addition, Adidas’ partnership with LOVB includes outfitting select junior clubs for this upcoming season, and expanding to supplying all LOVB youth athletes with custom uniforms and footwear over the course of the partnership. As the largest footprint of youth volleyball clubs in the country, LOVB has more than 14,000 athletes competing from clubs across 22 states. These clubs include Atlanta’s A5, Houston Skyline and Premier Nebraska, which all rank in the top-10 nationally. The partnership will also include co-branded and officially licensed merchandise designed for both young players and their families, as well as the fans of LOVB’s pro league.
Adidas and LOVB noted in the release that volleyball continues to be the fastest-growing sport for girls in the U.S. with junior volleyball club tournaments seeing significant growth across the country.
“LOVB is on a revolutionary path to grow the sport of volleyball in the US, from club to pro, and we could not be more excited to build the future vision of volleyball together,” said Christine Shelby, director of volleyball at Adidas. “With more than 38 million current and former volleyball players in the US alone, we are thrilled to partner with LOVB to outfit today and tomorrow’s athletes. Growing sport at the grassroots levels is one of our brand’s primary missions, so this partnership made perfect sense for us.”
“Since our inception five years ago, LOVB has centered around the unique power of a youth-to-pro community and making meaningful impacts for girls and women through the sport of volleyball. In Adidas, we could not be more excited to work with a company who has proven they share that same commitment, and is as passionate as we are about creating better experiences and more support for our young players and pro athletes,” said LOVB CEO and Co-Founder, Katlyn Gao.
Photo courtesy LOVB
