Puma launched technical football kits for Puma's 10 partnered African
National football teams. Each kit is designed by a renowned artist from
the Creative African Network (CAN) – a Puma platform connecting and
promoting artists from and in Africa.

This unique collaboration
is complemented by a month-long exhibition at the Design Museum, London
that showcases the artists’ design inspirations.

Today’s
unveiling at the Design Museum in London, brought together high profile
football players and CAN artists from each of the 10 Puma partnered
teams, including Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon, John Mensah of Ghana and Yaya
Touré of Ivory Coast. With the 2012 Orange Africa Cup of Nations fast
approaching, the event was the perfect platform for Puma to demonstrate
how the brand has fused its work within sport and art, seamlessly
bringing together two worlds that don't often collide.

Central to
the project is Puma.Creative (a programme of PumaVision), that brings
together individual artists and organizations, and provides them with a
platform for creative exchange and international exposure. Through
Puma.Creative’s CAN programme, artists were commissioned to design a
football jersey inspired from the country’s heritage, culture and
traditions. Ten artists worked with their home nation to create unique
and inspiring designs for the official football kits.

“Puma has
been at the forefront of integrating the two disparate worlds of sport
and art, and today through a celebration of football, art, colour and
culture, we have shown to the world how these two spheres can be
uniquely combined,” comments Franz Koch, CEO of Puma SE. “Puma has a
long standing history with Africa, and this event demonstrates how as a
brand we continue to be fully committed to our relationship with the
continent.”

Puma does indeed have a celebrated history with
African football, each year bringing something new and different to the
football category. Notable highlights include the African Unity Kit for
the FIFA World Cup 2010 and the Cameroon Unikit in 2004. Art has also
featured prominently in Puma projects: to celebrate the FIFA World Cup
2010, the brand commissioned contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley for a
series of portraits with African football players and to design
African-inspired lifestyle products.

The Puma partnered African
national teams represented include Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast,
Algeria, Namibia, Senegal, Togo, Gabon, Burkina Faso and PUMA’s newest
partner South Africa, which signed with the sportlifestyle brand in June
2011. The technical kits have been designed to maximise the player’s
on-pitch performance. The jersey fits the body closely to avoid grabbing
from the opponent, it also emphasises the physique of the players,
allowing them to exhibit their physical presence on the pitch. The
fabric features PUMA’s U.S.P Moisture Management technology, enhancing
body performance by dragging moisture away from the body, enhancing air
flow and keeping the body at the ultimate performance temperature.

Terence
Parris, Head of Teamsports Marketing at PUMA SE comments, “African
football continues to play a huge part in our global sports marketing
strategy. Over the past decade, we have progressively developed our
relationship with Africa, investing in grassroots projects, player
relationships and African federation partnerships. The emotion and
passion of African football perfectly complements our brand ethos and we
are uniquely privileged to be in a position to work with a continent
with such rich culture and heritage. These football kits embody all of
our brand values.”

Puma has worked with the Design Museum in
London to launch a month-long exhibition ‘Interpretations of Africa:
Football, Art and Design’ to celebrate PUMA’s inspired new football kit
designs for the 10 PUMA partnered African National football teams.

Through
the African kits revealed today, ‘Interpretations of Africa: Football,
Art and Design’ explores the response of the 10 artists from the
Creative African Network, to a demanding brief, focused on Africa’s
unique visual identity and culture. The exhibition charts the artists’
journey, inspiration, and design process, demonstrating how Africa’s
culture and history can be captured in both an artwork and a
corresponding sportswear design.

The exhibition will feature
original artwork and sketches alongside development work and the
resulting final football kits created by the artists involved, including
Barthélémy Toguo of Cameroon, Zineb Zedira of Algeria and Godfried
Donker of Ghana who have all become renowned in the art world for their
emotive and captivating work. The other artists representing their
nations are:  Saïdou Dicko of Burkina Faso, Ernest Düku of Ivory Coast,
Owanto of Gabon, Hentie van der Merwe of Namibia, Samba Fall of Senegal,
Hasan and Husain Essop of South Africa and El Loko of Togo.

Alex
Newson, Exhibition Curator, Design Museum, London adds, “As a design
challenge, creating a new national football kit is a complicated and
demanding brief. The results of the collaboration between PUMA and the
group of celebrated artists are remarkable and testament to the talent,
pride and passion evident in both African art and football and this
exhibition charts this unique journey.”

The exhibition is open for public viewing from November 8 – 27, 2011, 10.00am – 17.45pm.