The bizarre partnership between Canada and Nike continues

UPDATE: Canada played the final four of the CONCACAF Nations League, the counter-north American equivalent of the tournament also played by Italy these days. In the semifinals, the Canadian team won with Panama 2-0 thanks to goals from the team's two stars Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David. In the final came the defeat against the USA (1 to 0) but it is a detail of the first match that confirms the strange relationship between the national team and its sponsor Nike. The Away and third kit, entirely white and black had not even been announced by Nike and cannot be found in the brand's online store. This is nothing new, given the players' protests on the eve of the last World Cup in Qatar, where Nike had not planned to make a jersey.

There was no shortage of twists and surprises on one of the few weekends without a championship, as the national teams are busy rehearsing the ideal line-up for the World Cup that will take place in a few months' time in Qatar. Besides surprising victories and important debuts, another event did not go unnoticed this weekend. In the Austrian Franz Horr Stadion, where Canada won by two goals to nil against Qatar, Jonathan David's stance caused discussion. After scoring the second goal, the Lille striker deliberately covered the Nike logo with his hands, guilty of not having created a new shirt for the next World Cup. 

A decision that was not well received by David and his teammates who, after playing a perfect round and reaching qualification, were denied a new design by their technical sponsor. The reason behind this choice by Nike is actually much simpler than you might think, the federation and the American brand did not think the national team could qualify and therefore no designer was involved in creating or thinking of something new. A perfect assist for Jonathan David, an adidas athlete as can be seen from the gloves and shoes in which the logo is in plain sight, to protest against this choice which frankly seems truly absurd, given the rise of the Canadian national team in recent years.