Chelsea hope to land Saudi airline Riyadh Air as shirt sponsor

The Blues have played with no front kit sponsor up until now.

In an effort to increase their commercial earnings, Chelsea executives hosted representatives from the Saudi government airline Riyadh Air and presented a prospective front-of-shirt sponsorship agreement, according to the Athletic.

The principal owner of Newcastle United in Saudi Arabia, Public Investment Fund (PIF), also owns Riyadh Air, which already sponsors Atletico Madrid. The new airline, whose foundation was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in March, has yet to fly a plane and does not have any plans to do so until 2025.

At Stamford Bridge post Saturday's 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, Chelsea officials, including chief executive Chris Jurasek, welcomed a Riyadh Air delegation. The club then presented the airline with a proposal for a multi-year sponsorship agreement for the men's and women's teams.

The betting platform Kaiyun Sports, which just established a partnership with Nottingham Forest, is a rival for the front-of-shirt sponsor position.

Kaiyun Sports target audience seems to be China, where gambling is illegal, they are said to access the UK market through a “white label agreement” with a company in Isle of Man. It is unclear where the company is based or who its owners are. Making its presence in the Premier League highly unusual.

However, the fact that Kaiyun already has partnerships with Real Madrid, Crystal Palace, and Inter Milan as well as Chelsea gives Chelsea some comfort. On Saturday, the betting company was promoted on billboards at Stamford Bridge.

Eight of the 20 teams in the top division have front-of-shirt sponsorship deals this year despite the Premier League clubs' vote to outlaw all gambling companies from having such deals starting in 2026.

Chelsea is trying to replace mobile network Three, therefore the team's blue shirts have remained empty so far this year. The "operating system for sports" Infinite Athlete has been approached, but the Premier League has not yet given their blessing to the agreement.