Burnley kicked off the 2026/27 Championship season having already burned through one front-of-shirt partner. The club terminated its deal with online trading firm Finotive just days before the season opener, saying it acted "decisively" to protect the club and its supporters.
The result? Any fan who'd already bought the new kit was holding a shirt whose sponsor had a shelf life of 42 days.
Burnley moved fast on the fallout - refunds, exchanges, or free rebranding for anyone holding the outdated kit - and moved just as fast on the fix, bringing in long-time partner Vertu as the new principal partner across men's, women's and academy shirts, with further activations planned.
Why it matters:
The real story isn't the termination - it's the turnaround. Burnley didn't let the story sit long enough to become "chaos"; refunds went out, a replacement was named, and the news cycle moved on before fans could get properly angry. That's crisis comms done right: speed beats explanation every time.
Credit: Insider Sport
Wales' New Kit Proves You Can't Announce Your Way to Authenticity
The 2026 Dutch GP: Why Every Ticket Got A Place At The Party