Saints and Under Armour Agree to Partnership

Southampton's deal with Under Amour will begin on July 1st, 2016. The club have been very open about their desires to grow not only in their country, but abroad, specifically in the United States. This deal is a huge step forward on that path.

Outlined in the deal are six key pledges that Saints and UA plan to deliver during this partnership:

• Relentlessly innovate and create revolutionary product enabling our first team to perform at the highest level.
• Continue to develop the next generation of academy talent and empower them with over 5,000 pairs of cutting-edge footwear through the next seven seasons.
• Work with Saints Foundation and kit out more than 5,000 children in the local community.
• Develop the women's and girls' game through our shared expertise and knowledge.
• Realize our global ambitions by spreading the benefits of sport and healthy living through technology and activations.
• Together we commit to having fans and innovation at the heart of everything we do.

Most notably in that plan is that Ralph Krueger revealed to NBC Sports that Southampton should find out at the end of April about their application to start a women's team, with the club "eager to kick on and help the female game grow in England."

This has been in the works for 18 months and has been a long time coming, but Krueger is excited about the prospects of launching Southampton's brand globally: "The American market is one we have taken a big step into. We are growing this day by day." Krueger also noted that the club has been doing research into the Asian market, specifically China. "There are other opportunities in the world where we want to teach the game of football."

Announced earlier this year were plans for Southampton to launch an extensive coaching and player developmental program across North America this summer. UA's will play a big role in their involvement with those programs, as Saints continue to grow their brand stateside.

NBC Sports also reported this morning that Southampton could be looking at a trip to Baltimore this summer to visit UA's headquarters, as well as bringing players not involved in the Euro's for preseason training.

"We are the fastest growing brand in football."