India Times reports that American sportswear company Nike has signed a three-year, $3.5 million deal with ESPN-Star Sports for Nike-branded soccer programming. Much like America is heavily focused on baseball and football, Indians are heavily vested in cricket, while soccer is the big game in most of the world. Even if Nike fails to grow soccer as a sport in India, it could still profit greatly from incresed sales of soccer-themed apparel in India.

The importance of establishing a wide footprint on the sub-continent is underscored by a report from McKinsey Global Institute that projects India’s consumer spending to top Germany’s by 2025.

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