Liverpool have announced that New Balance will continue as the club's official kit supplier until 31 July of this year, meaning that they will theoretically be in place until the conclusion of the current season – barring any other global catastrophes.
Earlier in March we posed the question of whether Liverpool could lift the Premier League trophy in Nike kits due to the delay in proceedings that the Coronavirus pandemic has created. And now we have our answer, as it has been announced that New Balance, Liverpool and incoming kit supplier Nike have mutually agreed that the current deal, which was due to come to an end on 31 May 2020, will be extended due to the Premier League being suspended as a result of COVID-19.
Following a long and protracted series of events, Nike were confirmed to be Liverpool’s new kit supplier earlier this year, taking over the reigns from New Balance, with the contract set to commence on 1 June. But with the global delay to football due to the Coronavirus pandemic, there became the very real chance that runaway league leaders and champions elect, Liverpool would not actually secure the title before that date. This in turn could potentially mean that despite starting the season in kits supplied by New Balance, they could finish it – lifting the trophy in the process – in kits supplied by Nike.
Lifting the league title for the first time in 30 years – and the Premier League for the first time ever – would have been the culmination of a hugely successful five-year partnership between Liverpool and New Balance, during which time the club have made it to back-to-back Champions League finals, lifting the trophy in 2019, while the brand have enjoyed record shirt sales, delivering two of the biggest selling home kits in the Liverpool’s history. For New Balance to then lose out on seeing the team lifting the trophy in their kit would have felt unjust, and thankfully that’s also the view of Nike and the club themselves. Now all they’ve got to do is actually secure the title…
Nike’s term as official kit supplier to the club, outfitting the men’s, women’s and Academy squads, as well as coaching staff and Liverpool FC Foundation, will commence on 1 August, so expect to see the first Swoosh on a Liverpool shirt around that time.
See the best of the Nike x Liverpool concept kits here.
