LIVERPOOL Football Club (LFC) recently signed a multiyear agreement with Nike as its official kit sponsor beginning the 2020-21 season.
To be honest…am not really thrilled. In my opinion, previous kit sponsors Umbro, Reebok, Adidas and Warrior/New Balance have been there for the English club for the longest time. Especially during the years when they weren’t really good.
I thought that the designs made by Warrior/New Balance were not only innovative but very respectful of the club’s history. I loved the little touches they did to pay homage to Liverpool and its history.
And now that Liverpool is atop the game…Nike in my opinion is swooping in. So much like what happened with the Azkals in 2010. Long-time kit supplier for the Philippine national men’s football team, Mizuno, got pushed aside after the Azkals’ successful 2010 Suzuki Cup showing.
Yes, I understand that the money helps and that pays for the bills. And Nike is hardly at fault here whether I agree with their view of the world or not. It was Liverpool’s management which decided on this.
Yet, the deal is there now.
On the other hand, I would like to commend its longtime shirt sponsor, Standard Chartered, that is celebrating its 10th year of association with the team. And I am happy to say that they have been with this club when they were down and now when they are up.
Furthermore, Standard Chartered is signed up right all the way to the 2022-23 season that will make it longest-running sponsor for the club; making it the second longest-running team sponsor after Danish beer brand, Carlsberg.
Locally, I recall how several years ago, the elevator of Standard Chartered’s office building in Makati was adorned with near life-size Liverpool FC player stickers. Not bad.
And, most recently, the local bank of this international financial giant celebrated January 17 as “Red for a Day” where all its employees wore red-colored shirts or Liverpool kits to show their solidarity. Amazing!
As a football fan, the logo in front of the shirt is as synonymous as the club it sponsors. It is a big deal not only for the corporation, but also the fan. When Xbox sponsored the Seattle Sounders of the American Major League Soccer, it was just so cool that I had to get one.
But back to the new sponsor of LFC.
Yes, I will still get it because I have gotten every single kit of Liverpool since 2006. I’m still saluting Standard Chartered, but most especially, I am supporting the football club I have followed since 1979 when I was in sixth grade.