Sheffield United new kit: What unique deal with Errea means for Blades financially

The deal, which was exclusively revealed by The Star towards the end of last year, was officially launched at the company’s headquarters near Parma yesterday.

Representatives of Beerschot and Chateauroux, who are also part of the United World network, travelled to Terrile alongside Steve Bettis to witness what has been described as a “multiyear” contract being signed.

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Explaining the commercial advantages of the new partnership, United’s chief executive said: “Previously, we’ve referred to the people who supply our strips as a partner. But with Errea, we are calling them a sponsor because they are putting money into the club. So it’s different in that regard and that is one of the benefits.”

“The other,” continued Bettis, “Is the fact that we have been able to decide what the strips look like rather than selecting from a set of templates for example. Usually, that is something only very few teams can do. We have been able to control this from start to finish.”

United are expected to unveil the designs of their first, second and third strips shortly. The bespoke service also extends to training wear and other appareil.

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With Errea also providing strips for Al-Hilal United and Kerala United, who complete the portfolio of teams competing under the UW banner, Bettis said: “There are two main reasons why this makes sense. The first is that it is a commercial transaction. The numbers are better. Errea, as I have said, have effectively become a sponsor as they are putting money in.

“The second is that we have had complete control over the entire process. We have been able to dictate what the shirts and the kits look like all the way through.”

Errea have replaced Adidas as United’s strip supplier, with the first delivery of training wear expected to arrive at the Randox Health Academy when Paul Heckingbottom’s squad resume training next week.

“Obviously we’ve come up with something that we hope the fans will like,” Bettis said. “We are the biggest team in the portfolio, as far as I believe, and that has given us another advantage over the type of deals we have done in the past - although all of our partners have been excellent.”