Nike is taking its rivalry with Adidas into the German sportswear company's back yard - but Adidas is crying foul.
Nike has bid 500m euros ($647m; £329m) to sponsor the German football team, which has worn Adidas since 1954.
Adidas says that it already has a deal to sponsor Germany until 2014 in a contract announced by the German Football Association (DFB) in August.
But the DFB is still considering Nike's offer, which is worth six times as much as the contract with Adidas.
Public support
On Monday, the DFB released the results of research it had commissioned that found there would be strong public support for switching sponsors and spending the extra cash on youth development.
A dispute between Adidas and the DFB last year almost led to a strike by the German players when the sponsor insisted that they must play international games in Adidas boots.
The new contract would have allowed players to choose their own brand of boots and goalkeeping gloves.
Shares rising
In spite of the contractual problems and the disappointing performance of Reebok, which was bought by Adidas in 2005, Adidas shares have been among the biggest gainers on the Frankfurt stock exchange this week.
The rises followed comments from the investment bank Credit Suisse.
Its analysts said that the shares could rise as high as 43.60 euros from the price of 37 euros at which they started the month, suggesting that the 10% share price fall since November had been an over-reaction to its current problems.
Talks to resolve the dispute between Adidas and the DFB are expected to continue.
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