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"𝗡𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀" 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. In its purest form.

I know I can be critical.

I know I’ve taken some heat for it more than once. But I’ve been sitting on the "other side" long enough to pull back the curtain. I’m sorry that 🇪🇸 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲 𝗨𝗗 - a LaLiga club I’m actually quite fond of - is the example here, but they practically asked for it.

In light of LaLiga’s 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗱𝗮𝘆 initiative (𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 10-13), where most teams will showcase historical kits, Levante’s players will take the pitch in nearly "clean" (𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀) traditional white-and-black colors of 𝗙𝗖 𝗖𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟳.

It’s a beautiful introduction to their 100-plus-year history, I agree.

Naturally, the club officially thanked Marcos Automoción, Macron, Blau Home, Lowi, Baleària, Internxt and JYSK for "understanding that respect for our roots stands above any logo."

The social media reaction was one of pure awe.

And that’s great.

Everyone's happy.

❌ But here’s the other side of the coin:

First, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester City, Manchester United, 🇧🇷 Atletico Juventus or 🇩🇪 St. Pauli have all made this "cleansing" move for various anniversaries, always thanking sponsors for their "understanding."

In Levante’s case, we have 𝟭𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲, 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲. In a way, for 89 euros, you’re buying a premium experience.

And that's the heart of the matter.

🔴 From a marketing standpoint, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗻-𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲:

Sponsors gain more through their absence/invisibility than they ever would through presence.

❌ People are talking about these sponsors more than usual - and exclusively in a warm, positive tone as "guardians of tradition." 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲 on independent campaigns to achieve that kind of positioning.

This "𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴" is a beautiful, highly coveted and valuable marketing asset; it’s not necessarily a mere gesture of goodwill (𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴). Nostalgia, retro vibes, and tradition become the foundation of a successful image-marketing strategy, with a "premium" product as the final sales goal.

Ironically, by purchasing a "non-commercial" shirt, the fan still pays, desires it even more (due to scarcity and FOMO), and the sponsors get better press than ever.

Win-win.

🔴 Let’s take it a step further:

Let any club try to negotiate this kind of "no-sponsor" initiative for 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻, without a special occasion or a celebration.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘯𝘰?