Danish Footballer Matt O’Riley Joins Team Skechers

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Danish Footballer Matt O’Riley Joins Team Skechers

2025-02-26 16:00 Last Updated At：16:10

COPENHAGEN, Denmark--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 26, 2025--

Skechers brings more strength to the pitch by adding the first Danish footballer to its team with Matt O’Riley—creative all-round midfielder for the Danish National Team and Premier League team Brighton & Hove Albion. Known for his technical ability and vision, O’Riley is already competing in the Skechers Razor 1.5 Elite—the lightweight speed boot for players who want amazing fit, feel, and touch on the pitch. He will also appear as the face of Skechers Football in multiplatform marketing campaigns in Denmark.

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“While adjusting to my new challenge of the Premier League at the start of this season, I discovered that Skechers has the most comfortable and high-performance boots with the stability I need for my game,” said Matt O’Riley. “I'm really excited to showcase Skechers Football to fans in Denmark while representing the brand on the pitch in all my matches—for Brighton and the Danish National Team.”

“As an exciting young player, Matt O’Riley already has a significant track record at the top level, both on the National Team and in the Premier League. With a bright future ahead, it’s the perfect time to officially bring him onto Team Skechers as our first elite football player in Denmark,” added Peter Jørgensen, Country Manager of Skechers Nordic. “We believe he fully aligns with the brand’s profile and will help players across Denmark discover Skechers Football and the signature Comfort That Performs offered by our boots.”

Matt O'Riley began his football career at Fulham's academy at the age of eight and made his first-team debut with Fulham in 2017. He joined Milton Keynes Dons in January 2021, where he impressed and was named EFL's Young Player of the Month in November 2021. In January 2022, he moved to Celtic, playing a key role in multiple league titles with his performance attracting interest from Premier League teams where he signed a five-year contract with Brighton & Hove Albion in August 2024. Internationally, O'Riley has represented both England and Denmark at the youth level and made his senior debut for Denmark in November 2023.

The Skechers Football range spans three Elite styles for men and women including the new Electrum Pack. The Skechers Razor is a lightweight speed boot with an explosive track-inspired design to maximize acceleration and energy return. It features a carbon-infused soleplate for responsive power and agility during play. The SKX_01 is ideal for striking the ball with a custom last meticulously crafted to optimize comfort and deliver a perfect fit for enhancing touch on the field. Both boots are available in standard low-profile with the SKX_01 also available in a high-top version.

In addition to the Elite styles, Skechers also offers a line of Academy boots perfect for all levels of play with maximized performance and comfort, as well as Youth and Kids boots for the next generation of players who want to emulate their favourite stars, featuring an adaptable fit and enhanced comfort in every pair. Both ranges are available in firm ground and turf styles.

Skechers Football launched at the start of the 2023/24 season when the brand signed Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane as the first pro to compete in the boot. Skechers has since expanded its roster with several elite athletes including winger Baris Alper Yilmaz from the Turkey National Team, West Ham United and Ghana National Team winger Mohammed Kudus, Real Betis midfielder Isco Alarcón, Nottingham Forest and Swedish National Team forward Anthony Elanga, Arsenal and Ukrainian National Team defender Oleksandr Zinchenko, as well as additional men’s and women’s professional athletes globally.

Beyond football, the Skechers team of elite athletes competing in the brand’s performance footwear includes basketball stars Joel Embiid, Julius Randle, Terance Mann, Norman Powell, Jabari Walker and Rickea Jackson; golfers Matt Fitzpatrick and Brooke Henderson; pickleball pros Tyson McGuffin and Catherine Parenteau; and Major League Baseball players Clayton Kershaw and Aaron Nola, among others.

The Skechers Football collection is available at Skechers websites, selected Skechers retail stores, as well as specialty football retailers worldwide, including Unisport. Football fans can get behind-the-scenes access to Skechers Football product launches and more by following @skechersfootball on Instagram and TikTok.

About SKECHERS U.S.A., Inc.

Skechers (NYSE:SKX), The Comfort Technology Company ® based in Southern California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. The Company’s collections are available in 180 countries and territories through department and specialty stores, and direct to consumers through skechers.com and approximately 5,300 Skechers retail stores. A Fortune 500 ® company, Skechers manages its international business through a network of wholly-owned subsidiaries, joint venture partners, and distributors. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, Skechers’ future domestic and international growth, financial results and operations including expected net sales and earnings, its development of new products, future demand for its products, its planned domestic and international expansion, opening of new stores and additional expenditures, and advertising and marketing initiatives. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking language such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “will,” “could,” “may,” “might,” or any variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include the disruption of business and operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic; delays or disruptions in our supply chain; international economic, political and market conditions including the effects of inflation and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations around the world, the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States, and the impact of wars, acts of war and other conflicts around the world; sustaining, managing and forecasting costs and proper inventory levels; losing any significant customers; decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation of order commitments due to the lack of popularity of particular designs and/or categories of products; maintaining brand image and intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers, especially in the highly competitive performance footwear market; anticipating, identifying, interpreting or forecasting changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for the products and the various market factors described above; sales levels during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference in Skechers’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q in 2024. Taking these and other risk factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration, the dynamic nature of these circumstances means that what is stated in this press release could change at any time, and as a result, actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The risks included here are not exhaustive. Skechers operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time, and we cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance.

Anti-ICE protesters assemble across the US after shootings in Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Thousands of people marched in Minneapolis Saturday to protest the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer there and the shooting of two protesters in Portland, Oregon, as Minnesota leaders urged demonstrators to remain peaceful.

The Minneapolis gathering was one of hundreds of protests planned in towns and cities across the country over the weekend. It came in a city on edge since the killing of Renee Good on Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

“We’re all living in fear right now,” said Meghan Moore, a mother of two from Minneapolis who joined the protest Saturday. “ICE is creating an environment where nobody feels safe and that’s unacceptable.”

On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about 1,000 people turned violent as demonstrators threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Saturday. One officer suffered minor injuries after being struck with a piece of ice, O’Hara said. Twenty-nine people were cited and released, he said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stressed that while most protests have been peaceful, those who cause damage to property or put others in danger will be arrested. He faulted “agitators that are trying to rile up large crowds.”

“This is what Donald Trump wants,” Frey said of the president who has demanded massive immigration enforcement efforts in several U.S. cities. “He wants us to take the bait.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz echoed the call for peace.

“Trump sent thousands of armed federal officers into our state, and it took just one day for them to kill someone,” Walz posted on social media. “Now he wants nothing more than to see chaos distract from that horrific action. Don’t give him what he wants.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says its deployment of immigration officers in the Twin Cities is its biggest ever immigration enforcement operation. Trump's administration has said both shootings were acts of self-defense against drivers who “weaponized” their vehicles to attack officers.

Connor Maloney said he was attending the Minneapolis protest to support his community and because he's frustrated with the immigration crackdown.

“Almost daily I see them harassing people,” he said. “It’s just sickening that it’s happening in our community around us.”

Steven Eubanks, 51, said he felt compelled to attend a protest in Durham, North Carolina, on Saturday because of the “horrifying” killing of Good in Minneapolis.

“We can’t allow it,” Eubanks said. “We have to stand up.”

Indivisible, a social movement organization that formed to resist the Trump administration, said hundreds of protests were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other states.

In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups organized the demonstration that began in a park about half a mile from the residential neighborhood where the 37-year-old Good was shot on Wednesday. Marchers carried signs calling for ICE to leave and voiced support for Good and immigrants.

A couple of miles away, just as the demonstration began, an Associated Press photographer witnessed heavily armed officers — at least one in Border Patrol uniform — approach a person who had been following them. Two of the agents had long guns out when they ordered the person to stop following them, telling him it was his “first and final warning.”

The agents eventually drove onto the interstate without detaining the driver.

Protests held in the neighborhood have been largely peaceful, in contrast to the violence that hit Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Near the airport, some confrontations erupted on Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and officers guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.

O’Hara said city police officers have responded to calls about cars abandoned because their drivers have been apprehended by immigration enforcement. In one case, the car was left in park and in another case a dog was left in the vehicle.

He said immigration enforcement activities are happening “all over the city” and that 911 callers have been alerting authorities to ICE activity, arrests and abandoned vehicles.

The Trump administration has deployed thousands of federal officers to Minnesota under a sweeping new crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. More than 2,000 officers were taking part.

Some officers moved in after abruptly pulling out of Louisiana, where they were part of another operation that started last month and was expected to last until February.

Three congresswomen from Minnesota attempted to tour the ICE facility in the Minneapolis federal building on Saturday morning and were initially allowed to enter but then told they had to leave about 10 minutes later.

U.S, Reps. Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig accused ICE agents of obstructing members of Congress from fulfilling their duty to oversee operations there.

“They do not care that they are violating federal law,” Craig said after being turned away.

A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing policies that limit congressional visits to immigration facilities. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by 12 members of Congress who sued in Washington, D.C. to challenge ICE’s amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities.

Associated Press writers Allen Breed in Durham, North Carolina, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed.