Which individuals have sponsored a professional club’s shirt?
“Guitar-toting indie tyro Jake Bugg is sponsoring Notts County’s kit throughout November. Is this the first time an individual has been a professional club’s shirt sponsor?” poses Gregg Bakowski.
“Gregg Bakowski need not have been a detective to find at least one previous instance of an individual personally sponsoring a strip,” quips Raith Rovers fan Iain Wallace. “Crime writer Val McDermid was Raith’s primary strip sponsor for two seasons from 2014 and her name remains emblazoned above our away stand (in memory of her father, a club scout). She also only recently stepped down from the board of directors.”
Val McDermid poses with her valmcdemid.com Raith Rovers shirt. Photograph: SNS Group Craig Foy/SNS Group
Several Knowledgeable folk have written in to point out the very same fact, thank you George Cook, Niall MacGalloway and Iain Wallace.
“Sheffield Wednesday have been sponsored by individuals on two separate occasions. Currently by Dejphon Chansiri their tuna chairman and also by some bloke called Mr Tom!” Whilst Putu Winchester is correct about Mr Chansiri, Mr Tom is a delicious peanut-based snack bar (other peanut-based snack bars are available and they may or may not be delicious). The Chansiri sponsorship was also spotted by Peter Russell.
Along the same lines as Mr Chansiri, Nick Turnbull highlights a similar circumstance at Ipswich: “Marcus Evans has been sponsoring Ipswich Town since he bought the club, which has always seemed slightly bizarre to me.” Not quite sure what Nick considers bizarre, Evans buying Ipswich or putting his name on the shirt.
