Champions League Round of 16 Kit Battle - Nike Takes Over Lead

Feb 27, 2026

by Chris

4K views

Kit Manufacturers Remaining: Only four kit manufacturers remain in the Champions League Round of 16: Nike, Adidas, Puma, and New Balance.
Number of Teams per Brand: Nike leads with six teams, followed by Adidas with five, Puma with three, and New Balance with two.
Kit Matchups: Two of the eight matchups are between Nike-sponsored teams, while the other six are between different brands.

The UEFA Champions League round of 16 is a battle between Europe’s top teams. For us, however, the focus is on the title race for the world’s biggest kit manufacturers. With the competition now down to 16 clubs, only four brands remain in the tournament: Nike, Adidas, Puma and New Balance.

Champions League Round of 16 Kit Suppliers

Nike led the field with six teams in the round of 16 - a big success, as the brand started with 8 teams only. Adidas follows closely behind with five representatives (7 teams lost), while Puma has three clubs (4 teams lost) still in contention. New Balance completes the lineup with two teams - the same number of teams that started for them.

This means that just four kit suppliers are responsible for all 16 shirts still competing for Europe’s biggest prize. Castore, Joma, EA7, and New Balance failed.

Interestingly, two of the eight round-of-16 ties are all-Nike matchups. In the remaining six fixtures, the clashes are between clubs supplied by different brands, creating direct head-to-head kit battles across nearly every tie.

Which brand do you think has the strongest overall lineup in this year’s round of 16? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.