A brand founded by an Italian is the new sponsor of the Cameroon national team

The Cameronian National Football Team played its last qualification matches for the Africa Cup of Nations, starting with the match against Kenya, with the logo of its now former sponsor, One All Sports, covered. It is presumed that there were issues between the two parties that led to the early termination of the partnership, compared to the original contract timeline. The collaboration with One All Sports, which began in 2022 after the national team had a historic partnership with PUMA from 1998 to 2018, will be replaced by a young brand, founded in 2011 and based in Geneva, called Fourteen. The brand’s website states that it combines remarkable craftsmanship with Italian elegance. Fourteen was founded by the Italian entrepreneur Andrea Picciau, who is currently its founder and CEO. Like One All Sports, Fourteen is a sportswear brand that produces products not only for football teams but also for other sports associations and clubs.

The Cameroonian national team represents a very important addition to Fourteen's roster, which until now had sponsored Swiss clubs such as CS Italien, an amateur club in Geneva, Bendel FC, a club from Benin, and Edo Queen FC, a Nigerian women's team. In Italy, Fourteen also sponsors the Gigi Riva Academy, the football school founded by Gigi Riva, as well as having sponsorships with tennis clubs and associations and smaller basketball teams in Switzerland and Sardinia. This is an important chapter for the Cameroonian national team, which is historically accustomed to living unique adventures with its technical sponsor. While playing a few matches with the One All Sports logo covered by tape is notable, the unforgettable story is from the 2002 sleeveless jersey: PUMA created sleeveless shirts that were promptly banned by FIFA, which argued that the Indomitable Lions of Africa should not wear that shirt as it would be impossible to attach the patch for the upcoming World Cup on the sleeves.

A trend that seems to be spreading more recently is that many teams (national and club) are no longer hesitant to choose completely unexpected brands with little experience in football. For example, in the summer of 2024, Wolverhampton officially announced a partnership with SUDU, a running brand based in the UK, making its debut in football, bypassing the idea of joining more prominent brands like Nike, adidas, or PUMA.