PUMA Launches Historic First Sleeveless Kit
Herzogenaurach, Germany, January 2002 - PUMA statement team, Cameroon, made soccer history on Sunday, January 20th 2002, in their victorious opening African Cup of Nations game against DR Congo. The Indomitable Lions grabbed headlines worldwide as they appeared in a unique, high performance sleeveless soccer shirt, reflecting the true spirit of the most successful team on the African continent. A BBC headline said "Indomitable Fashion" (www.bbc.co.uk), Spain´s sports daily Marca made reference to Australian rules football announcing that Cameroon arrived in fashion as the African Cup of Nations (www.marca.es), whereas a Reuters feature on www.fifa.com quoted "It's a special shirt for a special team."
The launch of the new aggressive Cameroon look goes hand in hand with the Japanese style animated "Les Lions Indomptables" print and TV campaign, kicked off by PUMA as early as the third quarter of 2001. The TV spot can be seen on pumasoccer.com. The PUMA Cameroon campaign, which will be continued in 2002, serves not only to strengthen the appeal of everyone´s "second favorite team", but also to show a creative and alternative approach. It just goes to show that sometimes you don´t have to be the biggest to make an impact. Cameroon is one of the few teams that could and deserves to wear this groundbreaking kit.
"PUMA is soccer," said PUMA Chairman and CEO Jochen Zeitz. "Once again, we are coming out with the unexpected, pushing the boundaries with something new that is functional and stylish at the same time. Cameroon is a great team to make this statement."
Cameroon, the first team to qualify for this summer´s World Cup, faces other Group C contenders, the Ivory Coast in their next game on January 25th before playing Togo on January 29th in their aim to retain the African Cup of Nations trophy.
To receive imagery of the new kit, please contact PUMA Soccer Marketing via e-mail or telephone.