Adidas promoted the new shirt of the Spanish national team with black and Arab models

The presentation of the new jersey of the Spanish national team for the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada, ended up opening up a political and social debate that transcends sports and once again calls into question the way in which major global brands they use national symbols in their advertising campaigns. Last Friday, the Spanish national team presented their second kit, a white, retro-style t-shirt that was publicly shown by coach Luis de la Fuente after announcing the last squad list. The design, according to many fans, has had a good response and in recent days it has become one of the best-selling t-shirts in Spain.

However, the controversy does not revolve around the uniform itself, but rather the approach of the promotional campaign promoted by the German multinational Adidas.

The company decided to use black models of Arab origin to present the new equipment in some of its official images. The absence of white models in the campaign generated a wave of criticism on social networks, especially considering that in Spain around 90% of the population is of European origin. This contrast reactivated the debate on representation, national identity and the role of large international corporations in building the public image of selections that, for many citizens, represent cultural and national symbols

.

Many users questioned that a national team is not promoted with profiles that reflect the country's sociological majority.

Others, on the other hand, defended the brand's global strategy, arguing that it responds to international marketing criteria and to the quest to expand the product's commercial reach in different markets.

From a business perspective, Adidas combines these types of images with campaigns featuring players from its own national team, considered its main commercial attraction in the domestic market. Among them is the soccer player Pedri, one of the most used faces by the brand in its advertising actions related to Spanish football.

The multinational also maintains a similar pattern with other teams such as Argentina, Germany or Italy, alternating photographs of soccer players with images of models of different ethnicities to reinforce the international projection of the product.

The Spanish case has been compared by some users with that of other national federations. Morocco, for example, opted in recent campaigns to promote its equipment with models from its own country, a decision that many pointed out as an approach more aligned with its national identity and with the image that the country seeks to project

abroad.

This debate on identity, national symbols and global marketing also appears in a context where European football continues to incorporate cultural and religious measures within its sports organization.