Manufacturing begins on Barcelona's 2016-17 shirts without a sponsor

Manel Arroyo, vice-president in the area of marketing and communication at Barcelona, announced in March that “everything has been talked over with Nike. The first shirts of the season will be without a sponsor.” It’s not the ideal situation for those that manage the club, because a sponsor brings in an amount of money they consider vital at this moment in time, but the company Oregon cannot wait any longer and have now got to work. 

The production of next season’s shirts has started and the main talking point, away from the design, which changes season to season, is the disappearance of Qatar Airways on the front. The agreement which Javier Faus, then the club’s economic vice-president, close with the Qataris before the 2015 elections for 60 million euros has not been respected by Josep Maria Bartomeu’s board after the elections. 

It’s the club’s error and it means that, 10 years later, the shirt will once again have no sponsor. The last time was in the 2005-06 season. That year, with Frank Rijkaard in charge, the Blaugrana won La Liga and the Champions League in Paris, the club’s second European Cup. Since then, Unicef, Qatar Foundation and Qatar Airways have been the names to appear on the shirt. 

Manuel Arroyo and his team have tried to close a deal with a sponsor with regards to next season, but time has been against them to the point that the decision was finally made to get to work without a sponsor for now. Meanwhile, Barça’s intention is to continue searching for a sponsor in a relaxed manner. Despite not throwing in the towel, they are aware that it will not be easy to achieve that objective and, in fact, are not ruling out the season beginning without or sponsor - or the campaign being completed without one. 

What is 100 percent certain is that the first batch of shirts which go on sale won’t have a sponsor. Far from a problem, Nike believe it will be a success, especially in Spain, where a shirt without a sponsor is often valued much more. The fans, too, may like it, considering it a unique shirt as, at the moment, it’s unknown how many of these shirts will be made before a sponsor is agreed. It could become a collector’s item. The new shirts could be on sale by the end of the current season.