A former Chelsea star was recently spotted wearing a certain Kaizer Chiefs shirt, which sparked a bit of controversy shortly after it was released. Here's a look!
The story
Former Chelsea star Salomon Kalou recently posted a picture on his Instagram wearing Chief's 2019/20 special edition shirt. With the club turning 50-year-old in January 2020, Amakhosi released a special edition commemorative jersey in partnership with their technical sponsor at the time, Nike.
Upon its release, Chiefs marketing director, Jessica Motaung said: "The club was very clear and deliberate with Nike when it came to the design and significance of the new 50th jersey, which pays tribute to the club's strong heritage and rich history.
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However, things soon soured just months later when FC Barcelona unveiled a similar black and gold away kit for the 2020/21 season.
The controversy centered around the fact that Chiefs were unable to maximise their revenue from the jersey despite it being incredibly popular due to Nike informing that they didn't have enough material to make more shirts for their 50th-anniversary top.
However, the fact that Nike still managed to produce the same design for Barca became an issue.
Speaking after the release of Barca's away kit in August 2020, Motaung told The Sowetan: "I understand that Nike does projections and they look at past things, but this was a significant milestone that we knew would catapult demand.
"We were advised about the lack of material that we used for our jersey. So, we were surprised when we saw the Barcelona jersey.
"With that [being] said, it's a beautiful jersey and I hope that the gold and black does for Barcelona what it's done for us
"We have a wonderful partnership with Nike but in this instance, we're slightly disappointed that we missed the opportunity to really take it further with our supporters for our 50th [anniversary] at the level that we anticipated, and also to leverage revenue."
Indeed that special Chiefs kit now has a storied history, as Nike and Chiefs would also go on to end their relationship before the club signed a new deal with Kappa in 2023.
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