It has been reported that Castore are set to announce a deal with the Football Association of Ireland to supply their kit and associated merchandise.
An deal would be a significant coup for the now-Manchester based firm who are growing their stable of football partners significantly.
Rangers was their launchpad into elite level football but since then, their logo now adorns the shirts of the likes of Newcastle United, Aston Villa Wolves, Bayer Leverkusen and Sevilla with deals already set to be rolled out next season adding Athletic Bilbao, Nice and Feyenoord to their growing ranks. This development would represent their first foray into the international football arena.
A report from the Irish Examiner set out the context of the situation with the FAI:
“British manufacturer Castore are poised to succeed Umbro as kits suppliers for the Ireland teams.”
“The FAI a fortnight ago terminated their contract with Umbro’s Irish parent company, JACC Sports, that was due to run till 2026. Payment arrears led to the premature action and a liquidator has since been appointed by the High Court to address JACC’s €13m debts.”
“Castore, backed by tennis player Andy Murray and the Asda-owning billionaire Issa brothers, have been anxious to expand their club portfolio to the international sphere.”
Scrutiny
Rangers have just confirmed their latest accounts, which contain a record commercial revenue of £28.4 million of which the dividend from Castore is said to comprise of around £5.5 million. That is more than satisfactory given where the club has came from over the last decade but still peanuts in comparison to say Premier League numbers.
In terms of kit and merchandise, there is still the ongoing supporter v customer debate that can be hard to negotiate. It is fair to say that Castore’s overall merchandide offering in Rangers stores still needs to evolve whilst their price points and multiple kits per season is a difficulty to say the least.
The club will aim to listen to fans but the bottom line matters most and in that regard it is working with Castore, who have improved from the early days of the partnership but there is still plenty of improvement.