Disi to turn down Puma

Rwanda’s long distance athlete Dieudonne Disi whose two-year contract with Puma expired in December last year, is not willing to renew his contract with German sportswear manufacturer but instead wants to jump ship and sign with rivals bitter rivals Adidas or Nike. He told Times Sport yesterday that he is not willing to work with Puma anymore thus can’t renew his contract with them. “Renewing my contract with Puma would depend on the package they are willing to give me. I never agreed on the package (which remains confidential) they were giving because it was much less than Adidas or Nike’s package,” “I will go for attractive packages from either Adidas or Nike. I will sign with one of the brands before the end of this month,” Disi said. Late last year, Germany based sports apparel manufacturer, Adidas Group had shown keen interest to sponsor Rwanda long distance champion Dieudonne Disi. The 5000m, 10000m and half marathon national record holder was approached by Adidas after he concluded the European road race season with a victory in the New Delhi half marathon race in October last year. “I was approached by Adidas officials over a possible deal but my manager (Ricky Simms) is handling the issue as am waiting for a positive response soon,” noted the soft spoken runner Disi who never wanted to reveal the actual package he gets from Puma, disclosed that Adidas could offer him an annual package worthy between $50000 and $60000. With no Puma relationships, both Adidas and Nike are waiting in the wings and this could help the Rwandan most internationally recognized athlete negotiate a better deal. The 27-year-old signed his first contract with Puma in 2005 and since then Puma has also been dressing the national athletics team in all major international championships. Puma is the third world’s biggest sports wear manufacturer behind other brand names like Nike and Adidas. Puma is a large German-based multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes and other sportswear. The company is perhaps best known for its football shoes and has sponsored such international football stars as Pele, Johan Cruyff, Enzo Francescoli, Diego Maradona and Lothar Matthaus. In the United States, the company is probably best-known for the suede basketball shoe it introduced in 1968, which eventually bore the name of New York Knicks basketball star Walt “Clyde” Frazier. Meanwhile, Disi who was 22nd in last year’s World Cross Country Championship held in Mombasa, Kenya wants to stage a better performance in this year’s edition due in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 30. Ends

Lifestyle

Disi to turn down Puma