Chelsea have unveiled their new home kit for the 2023/24 season without a front-of-shirt sponsor.
The Blues had struck a deal to sign up with Paramount+ but saw the agreement blocked by the Premier League, who feared a conflict of interests with its broadcasting partners.
Talks then resumed with online betting company Stake but widespread protests from Chelsea fans saw that approach abandoned, leaving the Stamford Bridge outfit without a sponsor.
With new signings now being unveiled in last season's shirt, Chelsea have decided to accelerate the release of their new home kit by revealing a sponsorless version to fans.
Paying tribute to the 1997/98 campaign, in which Gianluca Vialli's Blues lifted the Cup Winners’ Cup, League Cup and Super Cup, the new shirt is a throwback to the famous kit with the return of the white accents.
To modernise the look, there is extra gold detailing and an iridescent crest - a nod to the glamour of King's Road in the 1990s.
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Fans will be able to purchase the shirt when it is released on August 16.
There are still plans to add a new front-of-shirt sponsor and sleeve sponsor. The contract with Three expired at the end of last season, while sleeve sponsor WhaleFin had to terminate its deal due to economic problems.
Agreements with Three and WhaleFin were both signed off before the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium arrived and the BlueCo group are now looking to source increased revenue from any future sponsorship deals.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Chelsea unveil new home kit for 2023/24 season.
