Official: Kappa to partner with Aston Villa until 2022

Aston Villa, Fanatics and Kappa have today announced a multi-year deal that will see the Italian sportswear manufacturer partner with the club and Fanatics to produce leisurewear, sports goods and football kits.

This of course means that Kappa will brand the Villa shirts sported by the players from next season onwards. Hopefully, this will be the shirt that graces Villa’s return to the Premier League. This also signifies that Luke Sport will not produce Villa’s shirts going further, but they will produce exclusive formalwear for the club.

The deal with Kappa will run until 2022, meaning that all sports goods produced by the club (shirts, training gear) will be branded with Kappa’s badge.

There are some fan fears that Villa will bear the famous tight fit of current Kappa jerseys, but the involvement of Fanatics in the deal may allay fears. This relationship might simply mean that Kappa are paying to place their branding on a Fanatics shirt. Expect a fit in line with this season until further notice. There is a bit of interesting language in the statement from Villa that titles Kappa as a partner, rather than a supplier or manufacturer. If Kappa are simply sponsoring the shirt, you won't need to breathe in!

We have heard several rumours about the design of the kits, and that all three shirts will relate to Villa Park in some fashion. However, design briefs can be incredibly vague and rumours can be incredibly false!

At any rate, we’ll keep you posted.