Topics: Manchester United, Community Shield, Manchester City, Wembley Stadium, Football
The kit Manchester United will wear in their Community Shield clash with Manchester City will be unlike any other in the club's history.
The two Manchester giants will meet at Wembley Stadium on Saturday in the curtain raiser of the 2024-25 season.
United will be without Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro through injury, while City will quartet Kyle Walker, John Stones, Phil Foden and Rodri will be absent as they are not due back from their summer breaks until Monday.
United's starting XI isn't the only thing that will look a bit different.
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As per The Athletic, United's shirts will have a sponsor on the back for the very first time in a competitive game, with a Microsoft product featuring just below the player squad number.
The back-of-shirt sponsor will not be used during Premier League or Europa League matches this season, but it will be allowed in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup as well as in Women's Super League games.
The introduction of the new sponsor is part of United's sponsorship agreement with Snapdragon, a subsidiary of the U.S. technology firm Qualcomm.
The company's initial three-year-deal to sponsor the men's, women's and academy kits comes into effect this season and is worth $75 million (currently £59m).
A two-year extension option is likely to be triggered, bringing the overall value of Snapdragon’s investment in United to $375m over a five-year period.
Snapdragon produces the chips or processors found in an estimated three billion devices globally, including smartphones, PCs, virtual reality, gaming and cars.
As part of Qualcomm’s sponsorship, the company can promote the hardware that Snapdragon powers or brands that it works alongside.
The brand that will be on the back of United's shirts in the Community Shield and for the rest of the 2024-25 season will be Microsoft CoPilot+ PCs, a computer product.
Microsoft will not become a partner of United partner via this agreement or secure any rights from United.
