Shirt Sponsors and Kit Suppliers
On 11 September 2008, the BBC News Channel reported that the team's main sponsor, XL Leisure Group had been placed in administration, although Simon Calder of The Independent confirmed the group's website was still taking bookings.
The XL Leisure Group confirmed on their website that 11 companies associated with the group had been put into administration on 12 September 2008. This included XL Airways UK Limited, Excel Aviation Limited, Explorer House Limited, Aspire Holidays Limited, Freedom Flights Limited, The Really Great Holiday Company plc, Medlife Hotels Limited, Travel City Direct, and Kosmar Villa Holidays plc. It did not affect the German and French divisions of the company's operations.
On 12 September 2008 the club terminated its contract with XL Leisure group.
During this brief period, players had their squad numbers ironed over the existing sponsorship logo. On 3 December 2008 West Ham announced that they had signed a shirt sponsorship deal with Far Eastern betting firm SBOBET. The deal was set to run until the end of the 2009/10 season, and saw the company's logo on First Team and Reserve Team kit, and adult replica shirts; all Academy teams and child replica shirts carry the logo of the Bobby Moore Fund due to the main sponsor being a betting firm.
In September 2009, the club officially announced that SBOBET had extended their deal with the team until 2013 after their welcomed help in securing Alessandro Diamanti.
| Period | Kit Supplier | Kit Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1976–80 | Admiral | None |
| 1980–83 | Adidas | |
| 1983–87 | AVCO Trust | |
| 1987–89 | Scoreline | |
| 1989–93 | Bukta | BAC Windows |
| 1993–97 | Pony | Dagenham Motors |
| 1997–98 | None | |
| 1998–99 | Dr. Martens | |
| 1999–03 | Fila | |
| 2003–07 | Reebok | Jobserve |
| 2007–08 | Umbro | XL.com |
| 2008–10 | SBOBET | |
| 2010–13 | Macron |
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Famous quotes containing the word shirt:
“For a shirt verminously busy
Yon soldier tore from his throat, with oaths
Godhead might shrink at, but not the lice.”
—Isaac Rosenberg (1890–1918)