Chelsea Announce AI Firm IFS As New Shirt Sponsor

Chelsea Football Club have confirmed that Artificial Intelligence company IFS will be their new front-of-shirt sponsor until the end of the current season.

The west London club has been without a long-term main shirt sponsor since their lucrative agreement with mobile phone network Three concluded in 2023.

The agreement with IFS means their logo will feature on the front of both the men’s and women’s team kits immediately. Liam Rosenior’s side will debut the new shirts in their Premier League match against Burnley on Saturday, while Sonia Bompastor’s team will wear them for Sunday’s Women’s FA Cup clash against Manchester United.

Chelsea described the deal as a “multi-year global partnership” but did not confirm if IFS would continue as the main kit sponsor beyond the current campaign, nor did they disclose the financial value of the agreement.

According to a Chelsea statement, IFS is the world’s leading provider of industrial AI software, describing themselves as delivering “industry-specific, contextual intelligence trusted by the world’s leading organisations.”

This deal with the AI firm comes two and a half years after the Three agreement expired. Sports data technology company Infinite Athlete served as Chelsea’s front-of-shirt sponsor on a short-term basis from September 2023. Last season, Chelsea went without a main shirt sponsor until Emirati property development company DAMAC appeared on their shirts for a brief period in the final weeks of the campaign.