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Last weekend’s games saw a little bit of history repeating itself, as two Premier League sides played against each other with not a football shirt sponsor in sight. Harking back to the glory days of the 1970’s, when shirt sponsorship had yet to take off, West Ham and West Bromwich took to the field in their corporate-free “football kits” sporting only their team colours. The game ended 3-2 to the Baggies, marking their first win of the season, and left new West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola with plenty of thinking to do. Perhaps he will want to invest in some new training equipment for his team!

I would like to say the reason behind the unbranded football kits was a romantic notion by the owners, celebrating the days when the game wasn’t so driven by money, but no… no such luck. The real reason is down to West Bromwich’s contract with T-Mobile expiring and West Ham losing XL Holidays after the travel firm recently went bust.

With the credit crunch well and truly with us, more teams may be following suit as stock markets crash and companies fid themselves upon hard times. Already Manchester United sponsors AIG have had to be bailed out by the US government, and Arsenal and Manchester City may find themselves looking for replacements for Emirate Airlines and Thomas Cook respectfully if the cost of fuel for air carriers continues to bite deep.

Could unbranded football shirts be all the rage this season? Only time will tell…

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