The notion of supporters sponsoring (i.e. paying for) football players kits is, a bit like testimonial seasons awared for loyal services, is a somewhat quaint (or nauseating, depending on your point of view) throw-back to the old days of football. That is, about 12 years ago. And in Fulham’s case about 8 years ago, when the players still allegedly had to wash their own kit.
But now many Premiership players get paid more in a week than many people do annually, it looks anachronistic to ask fans to sponsor their kits, which the club also plasters with a sponsor’s logo to help spread the cost, let alone sells replicas of it to further diversify their revenue-generating opportunity.
Still, that didn’t stop me stumping up 17 quid recently to be one of a group of people who have frequented (and in the early days helped foot the bill for) a website called The Fulham Independent and sponsoring Europe’s greatest goalkeeper’s kit. Given he gets paid 40,000 pounds a week and is likely to be sold in the January transfer window, it wasn’t the best investment I’ve ever made (450 quid a season, or 1.13% of his weekly wages). But it got the website and its supporters some recognition.
I’m NYCk in the list below (yes, they spelled it wrong, not getting the NYC reference, but there you go):
