May 5 – New Balance are wasting no time getting their new club sponsorships to work. At the end of last week the appareil brand unveiled the new kit design for English Premier League club Stoke City. Yesterday it was the turn of Scottish Premier League champions Celtic.
Celtic announced in March that they had switched kit supply from Nike to another US firm, New Balance, in a new kit deal estimated to worth $5.8 million per year, the biggest ever for the club and easily the largest sponsorship in club football in Scotland.
The five season, £29 million deal will start with the 2015/16 season. The New Balance sponsorship ends Celtic’s 10-year association with Nike.
The Celtic deal marks the next step of New Balance’s growth into the football market, one that it hasn’t focussed on before, despite the company’s 100 year history.
Celtic have been playing in their iconic green and white-hooped kit for more than 100 years. In the new home kit for the 2105-16 season, New Balance says it “is maintaining the club’s illustrious traditions, while incorporating a modern twist.” The solid green hoops circle are framed by finer hoop detailing to give the design additional depth. A club message – ‘A Club like no other’ – is included to the inner back neck and an external Celtic cross sign off.
The kit is presented as part of a New Balance ‘Live For Celtic’ campaign. Richard Wright, General Manager of New Balance Football, said, “New Balance has big ambitions and we can learn a lot from one of Europe’s most prolific and successful clubs. Being able to design the home kit for Celtic FC and to include New Balance features NB Dry and NB Flex into the design; we know we have given the team all the tools they need to remain successful for years to come”.
Boston, USA-based New Balance reported worldwide sales of $3.3 billion in 2014. As well as Celtic, its football sponsorships include Liverpool FC, FC Porto, Sevilla FC, Stoke City and national football teams, Costa Rica and Panama. The company also sponsors a roster of top flight players.
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