Adidas is bringing back its trefoil logo for the 2026 World Cup

For the first time in 36 years, the old-school Adidas trefoil logo will appear at the World Cup.

The vintage Adidas logo shows three leaf-shaped foils with three parallel horizontal lines that cut through the bottom of the shapes. It previously appeared on Adidas World Cup kits until it was replaced by the brand’s triangular three-bars logo in the 1990s. Now, for the 2026 World Cup, the trefoil logo is making a comeback, appearing on the right chest of away jerseys for 25 countries, including Japan, Mexico, and Ukraine.

Bringing the old logo back is a nostalgia play. Sam Handy, general manager of football for Adidas, said in a statement that the German sportswear brand “felt it was a fitting and inspired moment to bring the trefoil back to the biggest stage in world football.”

The kits pay homage to each respective country with local references, like florals representing local plants for Costa Rica and Chile, and a pattern inspired by artist René Magritte for Belgium. The revived logo instantly gives the kits a classic feel.

The history of the trefoil

The trefoil logo was introduced in the 1970s, when the brand was in expansion mode. Previously, Adidas had sold only shoes, and its first logo showed a track cleat with three stripes on the side and situated between the two extended tails in the ds in Adidas. When the company started selling apparel in 1972, it rolled out the trefoil created by German designer Hans “Nick” Roericht to symbolize a new era.

The trefoil stuck with the symbolism of the three stripes after founder Adolf Dassler put three stripes on the shoes for attention’s sake as they showed up better in photographs. The trefoil’s shape was inspired by florals, and the logo became a pop culture crossover after rap group Run-D.M.C.’s homage to the brand in the 1986 song “My Adidas.”

The company modernized its visual identity in 1991 with its triangular three-bars performance logo, designed by creative director Peter Moore. It gave Adidas a more simple mark to better compete visually with the American brand Nike’s iconic Swoosh, and it represented the company during a period of rapid growth in the 1990s and 2000s.

Today, Adidas shows how to use two logos at once, keeping its performance logo as its main mark while the retro trefoil appears on its Originals brand of casual sportswear and in nostalgic marketing campaigns. By bringing the old logo to one of the biggest global stages in sports, Adidas is looking to tap into the power of pre-Yeezy nostalgia for its vintage brand.

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