Chelsea seem to have turned things around on the field in recent months, but the commercial side of the club remains a bit of a disaster.
Behind the scenes, countless CEOs, commercial directors and other suits are being appointed, sacked and shuffled around. And their failings are writ large every time the team steps on the pitch with a sponsorless shirt.
Last year, it was mid-October when the club finally scrambled around and found “Infinite Athlete,” a brand already related to parts of the ownership, to fill in for the rest of the year. We thought that was bad – now we’re hurtling towards November and for the second year in a row, the team are playing in a blank kit, looking like an amateur team dressed from SportsDirect.
Nike frustrated as Chelsea gamble and lose again
Matt Hughes at City AM yesterday reported that the Blues wanted £60m a year for “front of shirt sponsors” over the summer, but two months in to the season are now asking for just £30m.
Did they not learn anything from last year, when the exact same thing happened? Amusingly, they turned down a longer deal with Infinite Athlete because they were convinced they’d get a better offer this year. Instead, it looks like it will be Christmas before anything is sorted – if anything is sorted at all.
Kit manufacturer Nike are annoyed because they think a sponsorless kit is hurting sales – or at least has caused people to delay purchases assuming a sponsor would be coming any minute. In fact, sponsorless shirts are a huge selling point and could be very popular with fans – if only Nike made better kits.
The first few years of our monster 15 year contract with the American manufacturers have not had an auspicious start, and tensions could rise unless we get our house in order.
