Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden apologized for the proliferation of pink football boots at the FIFA World Cup. Responding to an AFP question during the release of the quarterly financial report on Thursday, he said, "I think it was just a coincidence, and I hope it doesn't happen again."

Gulden stated that Adidas "didn't know what Nike, Puma, or New Balance were doing." The 61-year-old Norwegian also said that pink "is certainly a very beautiful color," but "in the end, we all chose the same shade, which is indeed a bit strange."

This color trend might be partly related to being more easily visible on green grass, thus making the product more likely to attract fans' attention. Odinga Nymaark, Nike's football boot product manager, recently told The Athletic that some players also prefer pink because it represents confidence.

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