Chelsea still do not have a front of shirt sponsor going into a new season, which was exactly the same as they had last season, starting the first handful of games without anything across the front.
Personally I loved the blank shirts so I was totally fine with this, but from a business standpoint it is an absolute disaster to do this. But Chelsea are now in the same problematic situation one season later. And basically, its down to missing out on qualifying for Champions League football last season.
The Athletic’s Dan Sheldon has been explaining it all this morning in his latest set of updates.
He says: “An announcement of another short-term deal for this season is expected soon. People on both sides who are familiar with the partnership deal have made clear that Infinite Athlete will NOT be the front-of-shirt sponsor.
“Chelsea’s failure to qualify for the Champions League has left them in the same position as last year, and there was no expectation that Infinite Athlete would divert from their strategic plan and commit to being the front-of-shirt sponsor for a 2nd consecutive season.
“Signing a short-term front-of-shirt deal with a company keeps cash flow ticking over for the season and then allows Chelsea to re-evaluate where they stand next summer. The hope is that they will qualify for the Champions League, maximising their commercial value.”
