Chelsea kit sponsor 3 has suspended its £40million deal with the European Champion following the UK Government’s most recent sanctions.
Gatekeepers News reports that Chelsea’s shirt sponsor, the telecom brand – Three, has suspended the deal with the Blues after the UK Government sanctioned the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich on Thursday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Abramovich will be subject to an asset freeze and travel ban, under the terms of the sanction.
The development has immediately thrown the club’s future – including their extensive sponsorship arrangements into doubt.
The European Champions can no longer rely on the money of Abramovich – finance expert Maguire
In 2021, Chelsea made £154M from commercial deals despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, before Coronavirus struck, the club earned £200M in sponsorship.
Analysts after serving the developments are warning other sponsors could quickly follow Three, who will remove their logo from shirts until further notice.
Three will also review their involvement with the club, hoping to avoid ‘guilt by association’ with a Russian oligarch who has been accused of making financial gain from his relationship with President Vladimir Putin.
The announcement of this suspension comes hours after the company announced packages to support Ukrainian refugees arriving into the UK, with pre-paid 30-day pay-as-you-go sim cards available to them.
A Spokesperson from Three said, “In light of the government’s recently announced sanctions, we have requested Chelsea Football Club temporarily suspend our sponsorship of the club, including the removal of our brand from shirts and around the stadium until further notice.
“We recognise that this decision will impact the many Chelsea fans who follow their team passionately. However, we feel that given the circumstances, and the Government sanction that is in place, it is the right thing to do.”
Meanwhile, Brands worldwide have been desperate to distance themselves from Russia following President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which began two weeks ago.
