Walking round Nike's European headquarters outside Amsterdam, everyone, it seems, is ready to play sport. Nike-clad employees mill about on their way to the many sports facilities on the site, which, like the US group's main base in Oregon, looks more like a university campus than a corporate headquarters. Eunan McLaughlin, the 46-year-old head of Nike's European business, likes taking part in sport. To prove it, he owns more than 350 pairs of trainers. But when it comes to business, just taking part is not enough. It is the winning that counts.

The Olympic Games in Athens are offering ample opportunities for Nike to promote its products. But Mr McLaughlin's attention is also focused on the soccer season, just started in England and Germany.