There have been several terrorist incidents in India in recent years including an armed raid on the Indian Parliament in December 2001, bomb attacks in Delhi October 2005 which saw 60 people killed and the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November 2008 which killed at least 188 people.

These have fuelled speculation that English teams are reluctant to travel to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games and last August, England’s badminton team withdrew from the World Championships in Hyderabad after reports of threats of terrorist attacks.

England's build-up has also been hit with the bad news that some of the country's top athletes, such as world heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis, are unlikely to head to Delhi due to the fact that it takes place in October and could affect their preparations for 2011.

The Director of Development for Commonwealth Games England Joanna Robinson has dismissed the negative press regarding security and the absence of top athletes as largely unfounded and described the deal with Adidas as a tremendous vote of confidence for the athletes heading off to Delhi.

Robinson told insidethegames: "We have a duty of care to the England Team we are sending out to Delhi and we are monitoring the situation [regarding security] closely but some of our star athletes such as Tom Daley and Christine Ohuruogu have expressed their excitement about heading out to Delhi which is great.

"We are very excited about taking a very strong team to the Games and delighted to have a brand as big as Adidas onboard with.

"With Adidas supplying our athletes with such top quality clothing, it gives us the best possible chance of success out in Delhi.

"We are really trying to get the whole country behind team England and supporting us and we are confident of doing very well at the Games.

"With our new logo and with Adidas on board, I believe Delhi 2010 is a great opportunity for the whole country to get involved in a great sporting occasion."

Adidas are also a Tier One sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Robin Money, the Head of Sports Marketing for Adidas UK and Ireland, said: "Adidas has a long heritage in supplying teams at major sporting events and is proud that almost 400 athletes of the England Team will receive the very best bespoke team apparel delegation wear for Delhi 2010."

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