New Delhi: Premier League outfit Chelsea have begun the season strongly and are in a much better after the first five league games of the season than they were in last year. The Blues currently sit fifth in the points table after three wins and a draw from their first five league games and are just coming off the back of a 5-0 thumping of EFL League two Barrow in the EFL Cup last night.
However, there still remains one similarity from last year’s turbulent season. The club are still without a main front of shirt sponsor just like they were at the start of the previous season. Last season, the club agreed to a one-year deal worth £40 million with sports technology company Infinite Athlete and they remained as the main sponsors for all of Chelsea’s sides till pre-season.
🔵Chelsea are struggling to find a front-of-shirt sponsor, but are having no trouble attracting lower-level partners. Two new regional partnerships (8Xbet, MSport) and three deals (FICO, Skrill, Verizon) with pre-season tour sponsors have been announced in recent weeks. pic.twitter.com/U3mxkwJNGN
— Łukasz Bączek (@Lu_Class_) August 15, 2024
The deal with Infinite Athlete was structured in a way that after the completion of the 2023/24 season, Infinite Athlete would become the club’s training top sleeve sponsor leaving the door open for a new front of shirt sponsor. The club did so because they were confident of achieving UEFA Champions League football for this season and striking a deal when you’re competing in the biggest club tournament in the continent would give a club a higher monetary value.
While that was the thought, it couldn’t come to fruition as Chelsea failed to secure UEFA Champions League football and now find themselves in a similar position to that they were in last year. Moreover, the Premier League rules state that clubs can only have one shirt sponsor throughout the season with the only exception being made for a single matchday, where clubs can promote a charity partner.
Will Chelsea have a sponsor this season?
Chelsea are in talks with Qatar Airways and two other major airlines about a front-of-shirt sponsorship deal🚨 pic.twitter.com/dfgd1h7sne
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 24, 2024
The club are currently in the process of finding a new short term sponsor once again and fans can expect a deal similar to the one with Infinite Athlete. The new sponsors will probably be given a one season deal again considering the club seems better placed for Champions League qualification this year than they did last year. They were initially in talks with Saudi airline, Riyadh Air, but a deal didn’t materialize and they remain to be on the lookout.
A report from Sky Sports claims that the London club are currently in conversations with three different airline companies to become their main sponsor for the season. The only name that has been revealed out of the three is Qatar Airways, who seem to be leading the race to become Chelsea’s front of shirt sponsors. The Qatari airline has previously sponsored clubs like FC Barcelona and PSG and are the current airline partners of the UEFA Champions League.
This isn’t the first time the club are in talks with an airline to become the main sponsors. Before the club brought on Yokohama as their sponsors in 2015, the Blues were in talks with Turkish Airlines for the same and even had Emirates as their front of shirt sponsors from 2001 to 2005. While the deal with Qatar Airways seems to be progressing, it isn’t close at the moment but it seems like Chelsea will get the deal done with the Qatari airline brand.
For a second season in a row under the new ownership Chelsea started the season without a front of shirt sponsor. Dive in to find out why and what are the updates on the club’s sponsorship deal. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
