Queensland Rugby League has announced that the Maroons will have a new kit supplier for this year’s State Of Origin series, with Puma replacing rugby league stalwart ISC Sport as the team’s main kit supplier.
ISC has had a huge presence in rugby league in Australia for many years, but earlier this year the brand confirmed that they would sensationally be ending their contract with the eight NRL teams it sponsored at the end of the 2020, leaving half the league scrambling to find new partners on short notice.
While ISC had cited “pressure” on the existing licensing model as a reason for its decision to pull out of the NRL (code for the fact that ISC felt it was not selling enough jerseys and merchandise to justify the sponsorship money it was paying to the clubs) there had been no hint that they would also move on from the Maroons, who retain a place as one of the most globally famous rugby league teams.
As such, it’s not taken long for Queensland to sign up a new blue-chip sponsor in the shape of global sportswear brand Puma. The German brand has some pedigree with rugby league – fans will remember the brand supplying the NZ Warriors for a period, and also made jerseys for England, Great Britain and St Helens up north for many years.
Fans won’t have to wait too long to see the first fruits of this new partnership either, with the new Puma Queensland Marooons jersey due to launch in March.
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