7 Clubs With No Shirt Sponsor in 22-23
Shirt sponsorship has been the norm at club level since the 70s, but these seven clubs are outliers in that regard.
7 Clubs With No Shirt Sponsor
As teams try to squeeze as much advertising revenue as possible out of their kits, space on the sleeves, shoulders, and back of shirts is now increasingly occupied by companies that you've never heard of, usually with names that give no indication of what they actually do. While not all clubs have sold off these sections yet, central chest sponsors have been part and parcel of football kits for decades.
Clubs don't tend to waste time replacing a sponsor when their contracts run out, but in some cases there is a gap between the old and the new. It can be because of lofty financial demands, lengthy negotiations, some sort of scandal that leads to one party ending a deal unilaterally, a lack of potential suitors for a not-so-marketable club or simply a wait before the new deal comes into effect. Whatever the reason, it very often leads to a better-looking shirt. Take a look at these seven clubs who are currently in between chest sponsors.
Boca Juniors
The presence of the yellow band on Boca's iconic home shirt means that it will never look too plain in the absence of a sponsor. Their dramatic title win surely helped, but this one will become a classic.
Bordeaux
Likewise for Bordeaux, the chevron is an ever-present and fitting a logo around/over/under it without taking away from the overall look is not an easy task. Such a shame they've squeezed one in over the Adidas logo.
Colorado Rapids
MLS teams used to play with their name splashed across the front, so it really is odd to see a blank chest on an American club's jersey.
Granada
Granada seem to have an on-and-off relationship with chest sponsors, going without one in five of the last ten seasons. Looking at some of their previous partners, they're much better off alone.
Nottingham Forest
A case could be made here that a sponsor might actually balance out the high collar and tonal sleeve pattern of the home shirt, but it is nonetheless a nice change of pace for a Premier League team.
SPAL
Striped kits without sponsors always look great, but Macron have designed a real beauty for Spal this season. The gorgeous detailing on the front can be seen here in all it's glory, but they snuck in a small sponsor on the match kit.
Venezia
Venezia's kits have been drawing praise from all corners for the last few years, with part of the appeal being the stylised lettering on the chest. We hear a lot about the importance of "visual identity" for clubs and Venezia certainly know what they're doing in that department.
What do you think of the sponsorless look for these teams? Would any of them be improved by the addition of a logo? Comment below.
