Liverpool will take on Manchester United this Sunday and there is going to be something different about the strips worn by the hosts.
For 15 years, the Standard Chartered branding has appeared across Liverpool’s shirts. The club currently earn £50m per year as a result of the lucrative sponsorship and this figure could soon be raised to £70m if the company decide to renew.
However, Liverpool will have a different emblem featured on the centre of their players’ shirts when Manchester United visit Anfield at the weekend.
The ‘Play On’ programme will be displayed on Liverpool’s shirts, an initiative aimed at helping young girls to stay in sport and ‘play on’ to reach their full potential.
The match worn shirts are likely to be auctioned off to raise money for charity once the game has concluded.
This is not the first time Standard Chartered have allowed an initiative to take the traditional place of the sponsor on Liverpool’s jerseys.
‘Futuremakers’, a programme to ’empower underserved young people around the world,’ has been featured on the famous red and white strips for one match in each of the past six seasons.
However, a new initiative has been chosen this season and Mohamed Salah is the player who has been shown wearing the Play On shirt ahead of the Man United clash. The Egyptian has plenty to prove after a difficult start to the season.
Salah has faced heavy criticism for his performances and questions have been asked about whether or not he still has what it takes to remain at Liverpool.
Along with Salah, other members of Arne Slot’s squad need to show they are good enough to be starting each week, particularly one or two of the summer signings.
Florian Wirtz has not kicked on since joining Liverpool and Alexander Isak is another expensive signing who has failed thus far to meet expectations.
The club as a whole need a win after three straight defeats before the international break and with Man United in poor form away from home, this is a good opportunity to claim a long awaited victory.
