Kappa seals Aston Villa kit deal

Italian sportswear giants Kappa has announced it will be the new kit and training wear supplier to Aston Villa football club – beginning from the 2019/20 season.

The timing for Kappa couldn’t be better as Villa won promotion back to the Premiership yesterday, 27 May, beating Derby County 2-1 in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.

Aston Villa’s current kit and sportswear is provided by fashion brand Luke, who’s owner Luke Roper is a Villa fan. The new Kappa kit will be unveiled in July. The three-year agreement for Kappa to be the "Principal Partner" for the club runs until 2022. Kappa have been making sportswear for over 60 years and have supplied kit for numerous teams across a wide range of sports including the Italian national football team.

Kappa UK managing director, Mark Ward, commented: “Aston Villa is a world-class club with a strong identity and heritage. This new partnership with Aston Villa reinforces once again our strong ambition in football - connecting our brand with one of the biggest clubs in the UK.

“We are excited to be a key part of Aston Villa’s global commercial strategy, serving players and supporters across the world thanks to a large product proposition from sports to lifestyle.”

To mark the partnership announcement, Kappa has collaborated with Aston Villa and Birmingham street art collective, GraffitiArtist.com, to create a temporary mural outside Villa Park, the club’s home ground. The artwork recreates the iconic KappaOmini logo, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, featuring players from the men’s and women’s Villa teams.

Over the course of the partnership, Kappa will also be launching ‘Kappa in the Community’ – a project which will focus on regeneration, with improvement works on facilities such as the basketball pitch on Witton Lane Gardens in the pipeline.

Aston Villa’s chief commercial officer, Nicola Ibbetson, said: “I am delighted that Aston Villa have partnered with such a recognisable and iconic brand who have a long-standing reputation for delivering quality, eye-catching performance sportswear.

“At the forefront of our decision was the key requirement to find a partner that would put design at the heart of the process and do justice to our famous claret and blue colours.”