After playing the first six weeks of the 2023-24 season without a sponsor logo on the front of their shirts, Premier League powerhouses Chelsea FC have brought on sports technology company Infinite Athlete as their principal partner for the rest of the season.
Chelsea announced the deal on Saturday, September 30, and the Infinite Athlete logo appeared on the club’s shirts for the first time on Sunday, October 1, in their FA Women’s Super League match against Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea’s men’s team wore shirts with the logo for the first time in their Premier League match against Fulham on Monday, October 2.
Infinite Athlete’s logo will appear in white on Chelsea’s home and away kits, and in black on their “Eton blue” third shirt.
Infinite Athlete “currently powers innovative technology enhancements for the club and its global fanbase, including the launch of Match View X (MVX) via the club’s official app,” according to the announcement on Chelsea’s website. “Infinite Athlete combines Tempus Ex Machina’s cutting-edge sports video and data technology with groundbreaking safety and performance analytics from partner company Biocore, and currently hold dynamic partnerships leveraging its proprietary technology across the NFL, Colorado Athletics, and more.
“Its mission is to be the industry-standard operating system across all global sports, empowering a better experience, with greater opportunities and access to the highest quality technology for fans, the game and athletes.”
“From the outset, it was clear the potential Infinite Athlete has in leveraging technology to unlock competitive advantage and to enhance the fan experience.
“We have a like-minded partner in Infinite Athlete. The speed at which our relationship has grown, alongside the evolution of Infinite Athlete’s business, made this an obvious extension to our partnership.
“Infinite Athlete has the potential to revolutionise the world of football and global sports, particularly when it comes to fans wanting to consume more match and player data and control their own viewing experience, while also providing players and coaches with insights and analytics that can help with player performance, health and safety.”
— Chris Jurasek, chief executive officer, Chelsea FC
Chelsea and Infinite Athlete already had a partnership in place prior to Saturday’s announcement. During the club’s summer tour of the United States, they used IA’s MVX platform to provide fans with broadcasts that could be customized with graphical overlays, real-time statistics, play-by-play match events, player tracking, and instant highlights.
Chelsea had been selling kits without the sponsor logo prior to Saturday’s announcement, but with the caveat that fans would not be able to return blank shirts to have the branding applied post-purchase.