PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea new kit 2023/24: why don’t Chelsea have a sponsor?
The Premier League side have unveiled their shirt for the upcoming season, but the front is bare after an issue with the club’s sponsorship.
Chelsea unveiled their 2023/24 home kit on Monday, despite missing one crucial element from the new shirt.
The club is still searching for a front-of-shirt sponsor after an agreement with streaming platform Paramount+ was blocked by the Premier League. The league was concerned that the deal may upset existing broadcast rights holders, despite not being in direct competition.
Chelsea’s deal with their previous shirt sponsor, telecommunications firm Three, expired at the end of the 2022/23 season and was not renewed.
The new kit is supposedly inspired by Chelsea’s 1997/98 season in which the club won the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. An iridescent crest and retro detailing hint at the 90s aesthetic.
When will the Chelsea kit be released?
The club unveiled the kit on Monday with the first official images of the new look. However fans will have to wait a little longer to get their hands on the shirt.
The 2023/24 Chelsea shirt will be available to purchase from the club’s megastore, official online shop and directly through Nike from 16 August. It will then go on wider sale from 23 August.
Strangely, 16 August is three days after their opening Premier League fixture against Liverpool. In the press release to announce the new kit Chelsea suggested that the initial versions may by sponsor-less:
“Fans should be aware that the 2023/24 home kit that features on pitch may subsequently feature a front-of-shirt partner. The club will communicate any changes to the kit in due course.”
Who will be the new Chelsea sponsor?
Chelsea will play the first of their pre-season fixtures next week when they face Wrexham in the United States. They have five pre-season fixtures scheduled in the States but, as it stands, it looks like they will be doing so without a front-of-shirt sponsor.
After the Premier League blocked the deal with Paramount+, the club reportedly considered a deal with online gambling firm Stake.com. The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust found that 77% of fans opposed the proposed betting sponsorship and the club quickly moved away from the idea.
Reports in England claim that Chelsea have turned down a sponsorship offer from Allianz.
Unless a very swift deal can be reached it looks like Chelsea will begin 2023/24 without a front-of-shirt sponsor. This would not be unprecedented; last year Nottingham Forest began life back in the Premier League without a shirt sponsor after failing to reach an agreement.