Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports, was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The first shoe to carry this design that was sold to the public was a football shoe named "Nike", which was released in the summer of 1971. In February 1972, BRS introduced its first line of Nike shoes, with the name Nike derived from the Greek goddess of victory.

During the past 20 years especially, Nike has been one of the major clothing/footwear sponsors for leading tennis players. Some of the more successful tennis players currently or formerly sponsored by Nike include: James Blake, Jim Courier, Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Martín del Potro, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, Marion Bartoli, Lindsay Davenport, Daniela Hantuchová, Mary Pierce, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams.

Nike is also the official kit sponsor for the Indian cricket team for 5 years, from 2006 to 2010. Nike was awarded the contract for US$43 Million.

Nike also sponsors some of the leading clubs in world football, such as Arsenal, Manchester United, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Porto, Steaua, Borussia Dortmund, Red Star, Aston Villa, Celtic and PSV Eindhoven.

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