Why don’t Nottingham Forest have a shirt sponsor? Players wear blank home shirt against West Ham

Nottingham Forest featured in their first Premier League match in 23 years last weekend and have returned to the City Ground to host West Ham today.

There is plenty of excitement around the football club this season, with many expecting them to avoid the drop with the help of a thrilling summer transfer window.

Steve Cooper’s side have so far made 14 new signings including the likes of Dean Henderson, Lewis O’Brien and Jesse Lingard, whilst they are currently being linked with a shock move for Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar.

While Forest’s transfer activity is being watched in high anticipation, there has also been plenty of discussion on their kits.

Both kits feature patterns on the sleeves inspired by the Trent Bridge, with the away shirt a very bright combination of blue and yellow.

However, the most noticeable thing about their kits is that neither have a sponsor on the front - despite the fact that the season started last weekend.

Why don’t Nottingham Forest have a sponsor?

Nottingham Forest have no shirt sponsor because they are yet to agree a deal with any potential partner.

The Midlands club were previously sponsored by BOXT, but their deal ended as they were promoted and they reportedly turned down an offer to extend their partnership into this season.

Will Nottingham Forest get a sponsor?

Nottingham Forest are thought to be very keen on securing a new sponsor but are looking for the right deal.

According to reports, they have been in discussions with a number of companies and have been close to multiple deals, but none have got over the line.

According to Sport Business, Forest chairman Evangelos Marinakis is hopeful of a £10m-a-season deal and is willing to wait it out until a possible suitor meets his demands.

However, the Greek’s demands are certainly lofty, with Sheffield Hallam University finance expert Dr Dan Plumley claiming a newly-promoted club should be aiming for a deal worth between £6m and £7m.

Plumley said: “If it does come off, fantastic. It would put them among the biggest deals in the Premier League. But there is a risk we can’t ignore with this strategy.”

Has this happened before?

Nottingham Forest’s situation is pretty unique in the modern era, with most clubs having sponsorship deals in place way before the opening fixture.

Though it wasn’t as unusual back in the day, with Sheffield Wednesday starting the 1992-93 season without a shirt sponsor, while Wimbledon once went the whole season without one.

Meanwhile, Barcelona wore unsponsored kits until 2006 until the UNICEF logo appeared - which was towards charity rather than for revenue.

However, this was a lot more ‘normal’ back then as shirt sponsors were a relatively new concept and the money involved was far less and didn’t seem as important to the clubs.

Who have previously sponsored Nottingham Forest?

Nottingham Forest’s last sponsor was BOXT, which replaced Football Index when they went under in early 2021.

Forest’s longest running shirt sponsor in their history was Shipstones between 1987 and 1994.

• 1981-1983 - Panasonic

• 1982-1984 - Wrangler

• 1984-1986 - Skol

• 1986-1987 - Home Ales

• 1987-1994 - Shipstones

• 1992-1997 - Labatt’s

• 1997-2003 - Pinnacle

• 2003-2009 - Capital One

• 2009-2012 - Victor Chandler

• 2012-2013 - John Pye Auctions

• 2013-2016 - Fawaz

• 2016-2018 - 888Sport

• 2018-2019 - Betbright

• 2020-2021 - Football Index

• 2021-2022 - BOXT