Top 5 Current Longest Partnerships Between Club & Manufacturer
For as long as people have been playing football in teams, there has been a demand for colour coordinated clothing to be manufactured. In the first instance players would wear matching caps or scarves to help differentiate between teammates and rivals. This was backed up by the Sheffield Rules which stated that; "Each player must provide himself with a red and dark blue flannel cap, one colour to be worn by each side." Eventually this morphed into something more substantial as football became more of a spectator sport. At first the only way you could acquire a shirt in the appropriate colour combination would be to visit your local tailor and have them manufacture it for you. This resulted in some degree of variation to the design as each player would be responsible for purchasing their own shirts. Eventually a handful of manufacturers appeared such as Bukta who would reign supreme for the best part of a century. As we enter the 2020s there are tens of high quality football shirt manufacturers to choose from. However there are a select few clubs who have decided to stick with their current manufacturer for longer than others. Instead of shopping around for the best deal they have focused on building a relationship between a specific manufacturer. Below are the top 5 teams who currently have the longest ongoing partnerships with their selected football shirt manufacturer.