Uhlsport


Uhlsport GmbH is a German sporting goods manufacturer. Originally established in 1948 as "Haase & Uhl OHG" and later renamed "Karl Uhl GmbH", the company became "uhlsport GmbH" in 1994. It is an international company which has its permanent headquarters in Balingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
The company manufactures and distributes its products through the brands Uhlsport, Kempa, Spalding and BLK.

History

The company was founded in 1948 by Karl Uhl. Early production focussed on the manufacture of leather studs for football boots, and in 1953 uhlsport also began to produce football boot soles for sports shoe manufacturers. In the years which followed more products were added, including shin guards, sports bandages, footballs and goalkeeper gloves, until finally uhlsport GmbH had developed a full range of football equipment. Since 2002, the company has been operating a multi-brand strategy for football, handball, and basketball.

Copyright violation and using Nike designs

In 2019, Uhlsport used Nike designs for Iranian clubs' kit. The company had previously announced that its designs were proprietary and special.

Brands and products

The brand "uhlsport" specialises in football, especially goalkeeper equipment. Since 2002, handball equipment has been marketed through the company's own "Kempa" brand, and uhlsport GmbH also owns the European distribution rights to the American basketball brand Spalding, a division of Russell Brands, LLC which produces balls for a wide range of sports such as association and American football, basketball, baseball, volleyball.
Another brand of the group is BLK, an Australian company that focuses mainly focuses on apparel for rugby union and league.
The German company operates an indirect distribution strategy with subsidiaries in France, Spain, and Sweden and with country managers in UK, Benelux, and Switzerland. Uhlsport has a further 80 distribution partners across the world. In 1998, the company was sold by the Uhl family to the Daiss family.

Sponsorship

Uhlsport is the official equipment supplier to Fortuna Düsseldorf, SSV Reutlingen 05, 1. FC Magdeburg, Corona Braşov, FC Avanhard Kramatorsk, Chernomorets Odessa and the Women's Bundesliga team VfL Sindelfingen. As official ball sponsor uhlsport supports the French Ligue 1 and the French Ligue 2. The goalkeepers Hugo Lloris, Danijel Subasic, Lukas Hradecky, Ron-Robert Zieler, and others play with uhlsport gloves.

Football

National teams

Europe
Africa
Asia

Non-national representative teams

Europe

Club teams

Africa
Uhlsport is the official supplier for the following leagues and associations:

National teams

Bahrain