Many 22-23 Kits to Be Launched Later Than Usual
Many of the big teams have not released a single new kit for the 2022-2023 season. This is not because teams have no new kits for the 2022-2023 season in the pipeline but because of one major reason - existing sponsorship contracts that prevent them to launch their new 22-23 kits.
Barcelona wear able to launch their kit from June 1 2022
2022-2023 Kit Releases Later Because Of New Sponsors, Kit Suppliers & Production Issues
The 2022-2023 kit launches of several teams can not be before 1 July 2021 because they have sponsorship deals that end not before June 30. This affects various different teams such as Chelsea, Inter, PSG, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, and Olympique Marseille.
The large majority of the new sponsorship deals begin on July 1, 2022, just as it is the case with most player contracts. The old deals do not allow teams to release the kit with the new sponsor.
For Chelsea, there has been also some uncertainty because of the change of ownership and the sanction affecting the club. Chelsea and Nike initially planned to launch the new 22-23 home kit in mid-May 2022. Chelsea also signed a new sleeve sponsor deal with Whalefin - the deal with sleeve sponsor Yokohama Tyres is certainly active until June 30.
There also have been production issues
Interestingly, FC Barcelona were able to release their new 2022-23 on June 3 2022 already. This is likely because their Rakuten deal already ended on May 31, 2022.
Another reason why we have seen fewer early kit releases than in previous years is the stop of production in various South East Asian countries some months ago because of COVID-19 restrictions. This likely affects teams like Ajax, who usually launch their first kit in May.
Teams who have a new shirt supplier from the 2022-2023 season can also launch the new kits not before July 1, 2022. This affects a bulk of teams such as Aston Villa, Schalke 04, Sevilla, Lazio, Betis, Köln, Bochum and many more.
Chelsea - New Sleeve Sponsor: Whalefin
Inter Milan - New Main Sponsor: Digital Bits
PSG - New Main Sponsor? Rumored to Be Qatar Airways
Atletico Madrid - New Main Sponsor: Whalefin
Manchester United - New Sleeve Sponsor: DXC Technologies
Olympique Marseille - New Main Sponsor: Cazoo
Leaked: Marseille 22-23 Home Kit to Feature Classic Color Combo
AC Milan - Reason Not Known
AC Milan 22-23 Home Kit Leaked
Do you know other teams who were not able to launch their new kit yet? What do you think of contracts expiring only on June 30 and not at the end of a season? Comment below.
