Championship show forecast

Adidas, the German sporting goods company, is forecasting record sales for its football business in 2012, its chief executive said yesterday.

The group achieved €1.5 billion (£1.3bn) in football-related sales in the last World Cup year of 2010, and some €1.3bn for the last European Championship in 2008, Herbert Hainer said at an investor day in Moscow. Adidas is providing the kit for Ukraine, who are hosting the Euro 2012 tournament together with Poland.

Football is a key sport for the group, which in 2010 posted total sales of just below €12bn. Adidas provides the kit for the German national team and World Cup winners Spain.