Chelsea FC have officially teamed up with Chinese automotive giant GAC Group and its electric vehicle brand AION, announcing them as the Official Automotive Partner of the men's team. According to reports, the multi-year sponsorship agreement is worth up to £3 million per year. The expanded deal builds on initial collaborations established during Chelsea's 2026 pre-season tour across Hong Kong and Malaysia.

As part of the partnership, AION will benefit from extensive pitchside and stadium branding at Stamford Bridge during domestic and European fixtures, along with digital content collaborations and interactive fan zones. Chelsea will also utilize AION's European electric fleet, featuring the AION V SUV and the AION UT compact hatchback, which are set to escort the men's squad on selected matchdays in west London.

The commercial agreement supports GAC's One GAC 2.0 international expansion strategy as the Chinese car manufacturer accelerates its rollout across the UK and European automotive markets. For Chelsea, the deal provides another lucrative commercial stream for the 26-27 season and further strengthens their commercial ties in Asia.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has been spotted testing a whiteout prototype of the next-generation Adidas Predator 2026 football boots during training. The England international, who has long served as one of the primary ambassadors for the Adidas Copa Pure line, took to the pitch in an unreleased all-white boot featuring a laced setup and a low-cut knit tongue design identical to the configuration favored by club teammate Martin Odegaard.

Declan Rice to Leave Adidas: Spotted in Whiteout Boots

Sep 4, 2026

The sighting is particularly intriguing given recent speculation surrounding Rice's boot sponsorship. The midfielder had previously been seen trialing unbranded whiteout models from rival brands, including the Nike Tiempo and Under Armour Magnetico 6, sparking rumors that he might depart the Three Stripes. However, his active role in testing Adidas's upcoming flagship control boot suggests that negotiations are progressing and that he could remain with the brand, potentially transitioning from the Copa to the Predator silo.

The next-generation Adidas Predator 27 is scheduled to launch in December 2026, lor January 2027. The upcoming generation draws heavy visual inspiration from the iconic 2000 Predator Precision, incorporating modern Nanostrike rubber grip elements, a redesigned Powerspine soleplate structure, and an engineered Primeknit upper across laced, laceless, and fold-over tongue variants.

Brazilian side Campinense Clube have officially unveiled their new 26-27 away and special edition kits, representing the club's first releases produced by their new technical sponsor, Start Esporte. The local sportswear brand takes over from previous kit supplier Lance, also assuming operations of the club's official retail store as Campinense gear up for the Copa Paraíba and the 2027 state championship.

The new Campinense 26-27 away jersey introduces a clean look, featuring a predominantly white base contrasted by a traditional horizontal red and black chest band that houses the club crest and brand logo. The crew-neck collar and sleeve cuffs mirror the club's rubro-negro colors with split red and black accents. The away uniform is completed with matching white shorts and socks.

Alongside the away shirt, Start Esporte launched an exclusive "All Black" special kit created specifically for the Copa Paraíba 2026 campaign. The darkened shirt features subtle alternating horizontal hoops in black and deep charcoal gray, topped by a neat polo collar with red inner detailing and vivid red branding on the chest. A new traditional red-and-black striped home shirt from Start is slated to follow in early 2027 ahead of the Campeonato Paraibano.

Middlesbrough FC debuted a bespoke font on their special 150th anniversary commemorative kit during their match against Wolves at the Riverside Stadium. Lettering and numbers specialist ID Unlimited provided the custom typeface for the occasion, designed specifically to match the limited-edition navy blue jersey crafted by Castore.

The commemorative font features an elegant gold finish that coordinates with the special 150th anniversary club crest and brand details. The numbers adopt a distinct inline double-contour structure with curved, retro-inspired geometry, while the player names are arched across the upper back in clean, refined typography. The look reinforces the heritage theme of the kit, which references Middlesbrough's founding in 1876 when players wore blue cricket whites before the club eventually adopted its traditional red.

The special nameset was worn exclusively for the anniversary celebration fixture and will not feature on the club's regular 26-27 league shirts, giving the rare commemorative jersey an even more distinct collector feel.

Cracovia and Puma have officially unveiled a special 26-27 third kit dedicated to the memory of Pope John Paul II, one of the club's most famous and devoted lifelong supporters. The bespoke jersey will be worn exclusively during Cracovia's Ekstraklasa match against Legia Warsaw on October 17, timed around the anniversary of Karol Wojtyła's election to the papacy on October 16.

The shirt is rendered in a light blue base adorned with tonal vertical stripes and fine white pinstripes. The color takes direct inspiration from the waters of the Zakrzówek quarry in Kraków, where Wojtyła worked as a laborer during the Second World War between 1940 and 1941, while also nodding to the traditional civic colors of Kraków. It is framed with a classic white buttoned collar, retro striped cuffs, and an embroidered heritage club crest on the chest.

Several bespoke elements complete the tribute, including the inscription "Ojcze Święty, pamięta Cię Twoja Cracovia" (Holy Father, your Cracovia remembers you) positioned on the upper back neck. Player personalizations showcase the club's retired number 1, a digit permanently set aside for the Pope following Cracovia's historic Vatican audience in 2005, which is subtly patterned with repeating numeral graphics. The limited-edition jersey is now available through the club's official store.

Swiss club FC Thun have unveiled their new European kit collection for the 26-27 season, produced by Italian technical sponsor Macron. Following the earlier presentation of their domestic league shirts, the Berner Oberland side have prepared a bespoke set of strips tailored specifically for continental competition.

The 26-27 European home jersey features a two-tone half-and-half layout that pairs the club's signature vibrant red with darker crimson panels across the chest and body. Overlaying the split design is a subtle geometric graphic consisting of intersecting angled lines and shadowed facets. Crisp white details, including the central Visana sponsor emblem and Macron Hero branding, provide clear contrast on the front.

The European away shirt mirrors the home template in an understated black and charcoal color scheme. Maintaining the same split graphic architecture, it adopts a monochromatic club crest alongside white branding and comes complete with official UEFA competition sleeve badges.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has been spotted testing a whiteout prototype of the next-generation Adidas Predator 2026 football boots during training. The England international, who has long served as one of the primary ambassadors for the Adidas Copa Pure line, took to the pitch in an unreleased all-white boot featuring a laced setup and a low-cut knit tongue design identical to the configuration favored by club teammate Martin Odegaard.

Declan Rice to Leave Adidas: Spotted in Whiteout Boots

Sep 4, 2026

The sighting is particularly intriguing given recent speculation surrounding Rice's boot sponsorship. The midfielder had previously been seen trialing unbranded whiteout models from rival brands, including the Nike Tiempo and Under Armour Magnetico 6, sparking rumors that he might depart the Three Stripes. However, his active role in testing Adidas's upcoming flagship control boot suggests that negotiations are progressing and that he could remain with the brand, potentially transitioning from the Copa to the Predator silo.

The next-generation Adidas Predator 27 is scheduled to launch in December 2026, lor January 2027. The upcoming generation draws heavy visual inspiration from the iconic 2000 Predator Precision, incorporating modern Nanostrike rubber grip elements, a redesigned Powerspine soleplate structure, and an engineered Primeknit upper across laced, laceless, and fold-over tongue variants.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has been spotted testing a whiteout prototype of the next-generation Adidas Predator 2026 football boots during training. The England international, who has long served as one of the primary ambassadors for the Adidas Copa Pure line, took to the pitch in an unreleased all-white boot featuring a laced setup and a low-cut knit tongue design identical to the configuration favored by club teammate Martin Odegaard.

Declan Rice to Leave Adidas: Spotted in Whiteout Boots

Sep 4, 2026

The sighting is particularly intriguing given recent speculation surrounding Rice's boot sponsorship. The midfielder had previously been seen trialing unbranded whiteout models from rival brands, including the Nike Tiempo and Under Armour Magnetico 6, sparking rumors that he might depart the Three Stripes. However, his active role in testing Adidas's upcoming flagship control boot suggests that negotiations are progressing and that he could remain with the brand, potentially transitioning from the Copa to the Predator silo.

The next-generation Adidas Predator 27 is scheduled to launch in December 2026, lor January 2027. The upcoming generation draws heavy visual inspiration from the iconic 2000 Predator Precision, incorporating modern Nanostrike rubber grip elements, a redesigned Powerspine soleplate structure, and an engineered Primeknit upper across laced, laceless, and fold-over tongue variants.

Adidas has officially filed trademark applications across the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom for a brand-new Three Stripes logo design. Registered under Class 025 specifically for footwear, the newly surfaced graphic consists of three curved, sweeping stripes that taper into sharp, upturned tips, offering a much more aggressive and fluid look than the German brand's traditional parallel stripes.

Footy Headlines can exclusively reveal that this dynamic Three Stripes variant will be used on the next-generation Adidas Predator 27 football boots. While the Predator line has a rich history of manipulating the Three Stripes to mirror speed and power—from the curving fins of the 2000 Precision to the elongated strikes of modern generations—this registered mark confirms that the 2027 edition will adopt a striking, aerodynamic visual identity.

The initial US application (serial number 50142442) was filed in October 2026 and is currently pending examination. While its primary football purpose is designated for the next-gen Predator 27 boot lineup, the broad footwear registration also leaves the door open for Adidas to incorporate the sleek emblem on select running or lifestyle models down the line.

Following Kylian Mbappé's high-profile switch from Nike to Swiss sportswear brand On, new close-up imagery has provided the best look yet at the innovative prototype football boots designed for the Real Madrid forward. Carrying the internal development code ON-DCPT-KM010, the pair showcases a clean, laboratory-style aesthetic that highlights the brand's rapid transition into elite football performance gear.

The centerpiece of the design is On's signature LightSpray technology, adapted from the brand's elite running shoes. The construction uses a robotic arm to spray a continuous, ultra-thin thermoplastic filament around a foot last, producing a seamless and featherlight upper without any traditional stitching or adhesives. Finished in clean white, the boot features minimal branding alongside subtle black typography on the lateral side and tongue, accompanied by a traditional central lacing setup.

Beneath the lightweight upper sits a translucent, frosted soleplate loaded with aggressive chevron and bladed studs engineered for straight-line sprint speed and sharp traction.

With Director of Football Thierry Henry helping guide the brand's new football division and Mbappé putting prototypes to the test for club and country, On is gearing up for a full commercial launch of its football boots in 2027.

Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori gave the new Adidas David Beckham Predator 26 boots a memorable on-pitch debut during Arsenal's Premier League clash against Leeds United, finding the net while lacing up the signature design.

The Italian international became the first player to wear the boots in a competitive match and score in them, grabbing Arsenal's equalizer in their 2-1 comeback win at the Emirates Stadium. Released earlier in the week, the boots commemorate the 25th anniversary of David Beckham's famous stoppage-time free kick against Greece in October 2001.

The special-edition Predator features a clean white base paired with vibrant red accents inspired by the England flag. The design is headlined by the iconic fold-over tongue displaying the Adidas Trefoil logo alongside Beckham branding, which tied in seamlessly with Arsenal's traditional home colors.

Following their official launch by Adidas, Lionel Messi has given an on-pitch debut to his latest signature boots, the Adidas F50 "Fútbol y Familia", in action with Inter Miami. Having previously trained in the unreleased pair, the Argentine icon laced up the striking red edition for the first time in an official match.

The "Fútbol y Familia" edition features an eye-catching Lucid Red, Core Black, and Pure Ruby color palette inspired by Messi's formative years at Newell's Old Boys and his Argentine roots. The design takes heavy nostalgia-driven cues from the 2000s F50 era, particularly the classic F50.6 TUNIT, incorporating an integrated lace cover over the instep alongside black Three Stripes outlined in white.

As usual with Messi's match-worn pairs, the boots featured bespoke personal details. The inner collar is inscribed with the names and dates of his family members, including his wife Antonela and son Ciro, while his signature logo sits prominently on the lace cover. The boots are available at select retailers as Messi's main club model for the 26-27 campaign.

A detailed closer look at On's upcoming football boot has been shared by oceboots, giving us the best look at the prototypes yet (they somehow managed to get their hands early on them). The prototype, stamped with the internal code ON-DCPT-KM210, features the Swiss brand's revolutionary LightSpray technology, which constructs a featherlight, seamless upper via a mechanized spray-on process entirely free of glue and stitching. Paired with a sleek lacing setup and an aggressive traction soleplate, the experimental model is currently undergoing high-level testing with Mbappé for club and country ahead of a projected retail launch in 2027.

Brazilian side Campinense Clube have officially unveiled their new 26-27 away and special edition kits, representing the club's first releases produced by their new technical sponsor, Start Esporte. The local sportswear brand takes over from previous kit supplier Lance, also assuming operations of the club's official retail store as Campinense gear up for the Copa Paraíba and the 2027 state championship.

The new Campinense 26-27 away jersey introduces a clean look, featuring a predominantly white base contrasted by a traditional horizontal red and black chest band that houses the club crest and brand logo. The crew-neck collar and sleeve cuffs mirror the club's rubro-negro colors with split red and black accents. The away uniform is completed with matching white shorts and socks.

Alongside the away shirt, Start Esporte launched an exclusive "All Black" special kit created specifically for the Copa Paraíba 2026 campaign. The darkened shirt features subtle alternating horizontal hoops in black and deep charcoal gray, topped by a neat polo collar with red inner detailing and vivid red branding on the chest. A new traditional red-and-black striped home shirt from Start is slated to follow in early 2027 ahead of the Campeonato Paraibano.

Middlesbrough FC debuted a bespoke font on their special 150th anniversary commemorative kit during their match against Wolves at the Riverside Stadium. Lettering and numbers specialist ID Unlimited provided the custom typeface for the occasion, designed specifically to match the limited-edition navy blue jersey crafted by Castore.

The commemorative font features an elegant gold finish that coordinates with the special 150th anniversary club crest and brand details. The numbers adopt a distinct inline double-contour structure with curved, retro-inspired geometry, while the player names are arched across the upper back in clean, refined typography. The look reinforces the heritage theme of the kit, which references Middlesbrough's founding in 1876 when players wore blue cricket whites before the club eventually adopted its traditional red.

The special nameset was worn exclusively for the anniversary celebration fixture and will not feature on the club's regular 26-27 league shirts, giving the rare commemorative jersey an even more distinct collector feel.

Cracovia and Puma have officially unveiled a special 26-27 third kit dedicated to the memory of Pope John Paul II, one of the club's most famous and devoted lifelong supporters. The bespoke jersey will be worn exclusively during Cracovia's Ekstraklasa match against Legia Warsaw on October 17, timed around the anniversary of Karol Wojtyła's election to the papacy on October 16.

The shirt is rendered in a light blue base adorned with tonal vertical stripes and fine white pinstripes. The color takes direct inspiration from the waters of the Zakrzówek quarry in Kraków, where Wojtyła worked as a laborer during the Second World War between 1940 and 1941, while also nodding to the traditional civic colors of Kraków. It is framed with a classic white buttoned collar, retro striped cuffs, and an embroidered heritage club crest on the chest.

Several bespoke elements complete the tribute, including the inscription "Ojcze Święty, pamięta Cię Twoja Cracovia" (Holy Father, your Cracovia remembers you) positioned on the upper back neck. Player personalizations showcase the club's retired number 1, a digit permanently set aside for the Pope following Cracovia's historic Vatican audience in 2005, which is subtly patterned with repeating numeral graphics. The limited-edition jersey is now available through the club's official store.

Swiss club FC Thun have unveiled their new European kit collection for the 26-27 season, produced by Italian technical sponsor Macron. Following the earlier presentation of their domestic league shirts, the Berner Oberland side have prepared a bespoke set of strips tailored specifically for continental competition.

The 26-27 European home jersey features a two-tone half-and-half layout that pairs the club's signature vibrant red with darker crimson panels across the chest and body. Overlaying the split design is a subtle geometric graphic consisting of intersecting angled lines and shadowed facets. Crisp white details, including the central Visana sponsor emblem and Macron Hero branding, provide clear contrast on the front.

The European away shirt mirrors the home template in an understated black and charcoal color scheme. Maintaining the same split graphic architecture, it adopts a monochromatic club crest alongside white branding and comes complete with official UEFA competition sleeve badges.

Nicaraguan heavyweights Real Estelí FC and official kit supplier Orion Élite Apparel have officially unveiled a special limited-edition commemorative kit for the 26-27 season, celebrating the 65th anniversary of the club's founding in 1961.

The Orion Élite Real Estelí 26-27 65th anniversary jersey marks a departure from the club's modern red-and-white identity by reviving a historical green-and-white vertically striped design from the archives. The kit features vertical green and white stripes separated by thin pinstripes, complemented by a vintage-style white and green collar and matching sleeve cuffs. Real Estelí's crest sits on the left chest, with the Orion logo on the right and sponsors Tigo, OX, Kobe, and Banco Grupo Promerica integrated across the front and sleeves.

Branded as an "Edición Conmemorativa Limitada," the commemorative shirt has been released as a strictly limited collector's item and is available exclusively through Orion stores with no restock planned.

Club América has come under scrutiny from kit enthusiasts and fans over the questionable durability of their player printing. During a recent Liga MX fixture, striker Miguel Borja was spotted with a miniature club crest peeling almost entirely off the blue digit of his number 93 jersey before the final whistle even blew. Big thanks to @BackToTheRetro2.

América has established a habit of using heavily decorated squad numbers featuring micro-patterns and supplementary heat-pressed badges placed directly onto the font. However, the delicate heat-transfer application has sparked widespread mockery online, with fans sarcastically remarking that the only way to prevent the badges from falling off is to never wash or wear the jerseys. Collectors have also questioned why expensive official shirts struggle to endure basic on-pitch friction.

The incident also drew comparisons from rival supporters, including Tigres UANL followers who noted that their club abandoned a similar trend of multi-layered font decorations after just one season. As clubs continually push for bespoke, intricate details on their matchday kits, América's falling crests highlight the persistent challenge of balancing elaborate aesthetic concepts with real-world durability.

Adelaide United has officially unveiled its new away kit for the 26-27 A-Leagues season, created in partnership with technical supplier UCAN. For the first time in the club's history, the Reds have opted for a vibrant fluorescent green base for their primary alternate uniform.

The shirt's eye-catching look draws inspiration from the natural landscapes of South Australia, referencing Adelaide's sprawling Park Lands as well as the region's world-famous vineyards. The luminous green base is complemented by black and dark grey detailing on the v-neck collar, side flank panels, and club crest, accompanied by subtle vertical patterning running throughout the torso.

Different front-of-shirt partners appear across the club's senior sides, with Mega Rewards featured on the A-League Men's jersey and Lendux adorning the A-League Women's version. The Adelaide United 26-27 away shirt is available now through the club's official online store.