The Huddle A hub for athletes in Berlin
Across the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, Nike Berlin became a home away from competition, bringing
together hospitality, product, performance and personalisation in one dedicated space for athletes and their
families. The result was an environment where athletes felt welcomed, supported and looked after.
The participation at a glance
Total registered attendees
Check-ins
Registered federation staff
Registered athletes
Registered guests
The experience at a glance
Athletes supported through Athlete Shopping
Nike and Jordan units selected
Pieces customised
Keychains created
Welcome packs distributed
Product that worked
for athletes
Athlete Shopping supported our athletes across apparel, footwear, bags and 100 Nike Vision glasses.
Extended and Tall sizing stood out as a meaningful need, helping athletes find product that worked for them.
“This is one of the first times I’ve shopped with Nike and everything was available in tall sizing.” Napheesa Collier
The five most-selected styles from Athlete Shopping:
More than a service space
The space gave athletes somewhere to step away from competition, to eat, grab a coffee, spend time with teammates and reconnect with family.
“It was really special to have a dedicated space where the entire team could come together and bond before the tournament.” Awa Fam
The experience extended beyond athletes, with teammates
and family members also making the space their own.
Made personal
Personalisation turned the experience into something athletes could take with them. Around 350 pieces were customised, alongside 500+ keychains, 170 postcards, 150 photo booth moments, 20+ nail services and 35 personalised Nike Vision pairs.
Performance
when athletes needed it
Gym and Recovery extended the experience beyond hospitality, with training and recovery support shaped around federation needs. For China, that meant adding squat racks to create the right training setup.
“The level of thought and detail that went into the training space is incredible,
especially for athletes who are in season.” Talisa Rhea
Service beyond the space
Some of the strongest examples of service came from responding
to individual needs rather than scheduled programming.
- Squat racksAdded for a China federation workout.
- Hotel deliveryProduct bags coordinated and delivered to team hotels.
- Personalised giftsCustom Nike Vision engraving for Caitlin Clark’s parents.
- Welcome packs42 delivered directly to contracted athletes at federation hotels.
Solve around
the athlete,
not around
the activation.
Athlete social content
What we’ve learnt
Keep
- Dedicated environment
- A place away from competition to decompress, connect and spend time together.
- Athlete-relevant product
- Extended and Tall sizing generated some of the clearest positive product feedback.
- Personalisation
- Small, thoughtful details created lasting memories.
- Flexible servicing
- The ability to react beyond the planned programme was an important strength.
Evolve
- Performance location
- Bring premium performance infrastructure closer to athlete movement.
- Service communication
- Make operating times and service availability clearer.
- Product distribution
- Improve hotel support around key distribution windows.
- Registration + data
- Improve registration, attendance, appointment and service tracking.
Final takeaway
The strongest outcome
wasn’t any single activation.
It was the environment
created around the athletes.
The Huddle gave players and federation teams somewhere to step outside the rhythm of competition and experience Nike through hospitality, product, performance and personal connection. Berlin demonstrated the value of creating a dedicated Nike environment around major competition. The opportunity now is to take what worked and make the model simpler, smarter and even more connected to how athletes move through future tournaments.
