SWINDON Town have announced that PUMA will replace Adidas as the club’s kit supplier, in a move which will rankle with half the residents of German town Herzogenaurach.

Town’s new deal, which will see PUMA supply kits for the next three seasons, means production for the kits will move from one side of the Aurach River to the other.

Famously the two brands splintered from the Dassler Brothers shoe factory in 1948, with Rudolph Dassler forming the company which would later become PUMA and his brother, Adolf, establishing Adidas.

Although the two companies are now global brands, both retain their headquarters in Herzogenaurach, a town with a population of around 25,000.

PUMA were obviously delighted to have stolen a march on their cross-town rivals and secured a deal with the Wiltshire club.

A spokesman for PUMA said: “We are happy to add Swindon Town to our growing list of football clubs in the UK.

“With a renewed focus on sport performance, PUMA is working to continually improve product designs and sports marketing assets with the mission to become the fastest sports brand in the world. We are proud to welcome Swindon into this strategy.”

Keelan McNally, head of commercial at Swindon Town, speaking on behalf of the club, added: “Swindon Town are thrilled to be able to announce this fantastic partnership with PUMA for the 2015/16 season onwards.

“PUMA will bring its own unique brand and ideas to the partnership, ensuring that they can assist us both on and off the field of play. Sharing the same focus of winning and wanting to become the best in the business will be an incredibly important part of this partnership going forward.

“As with all our partnerships, we have taken time to form a relationship with the individuals behind this opportunity. I believe that PUMA have some outstanding people we can work closely with to continue to deliver quality products to our fans.”