adminLONDON. – Fewer than half of English Football and Premier League clubs have both their new home and away kits available to buy online ahead of the season, as manufacturers face supply chain issues.
Only 44 out of 92 clubs currently have both their 2022-23 season kits on sale.
Premier League clubs including Crystal Palace and Leeds United are among those who have neither kit available.
Some have blamed the delays on disruption and factory shutdowns in Asia due to Covid.
It means some clubs won’t have their new kit on sale before the season starts, which for the Championship is 29 July, for League One and League Two is 30 July and for the Premier League is 5 August.
Out of the 92 clubs in the top four leagues:
One English Football League chief executive, who did not want to be named, told the BBC his club had signed off kit designs in October, with orders placed shortly afterwards, but neither their new home or away kit were available to sell yet due to Covid disruption at factories in Asia.
He said it was difficult to quantify the cost to the club until it saw the impact on sales, but added that some clubs would face a financial hit.
“We can manage our cash flow, but it will impact on some clubs’ cash flow, I’m sure, because July is a month when there’s not much cash coming into the business,” he said.
“We’re in a position where that hasn’t caused any disasters for us. But for some clubs I would imagine it’s pretty difficult.”
He added that the delay would also be disappointing for fans.
“If you’re a parent or a grandparent who’s going to buy a kit for a young child’s birthday in July, which you would normally have done, you’ve not been able to do that, you’ve got to wait,” he said.
Sandy Domingos-Shipley has three children, aged 15, 13 and eight, who are all Leeds United supporters.
Normally she would buy them the new kit as soon as it was released before the start of the season but this year she hasn’t been able to, with the club saying it won’t be on sale until late August.
Although Sandy said she would still be buying the kit when it was available, she added: “The season will be four weeks in and for the kids it kind of ruined the moment because it became our own tradition.
“It makes no sense because that’s when you know that you’re gonna get lots of people to buy.”
Manufacturer Adidas said: “Like many other industries, we continue to be confronted with limited port and transport capacities.
“We understand the frustration felt by the fans at this time and we have worked in close collaboration with our club partners to find the best solution on delivering the product as soon as we can.”
Leeds United did not respond to a request for comment. – BBC Sport
Online Reporter