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West Ham’s sponsor Alpari FX trading have gone bust after the Swiss Franc rocketed in value. This is just one example of how the sponsors on Premier League shirts have mirrored the market shifts of the past two decades.

From Japanese electronics to reckless banks and middle eastern airlines, the fate of Premier League shirt sponsors has been tied closely to that of the world economy. West Ham United was the latest club to be sideswiped by the financial markets this month when its main commercial backer, foreign exchange dealer Alpari, was forced into administration by the Swiss central bank suddenly abandoning the Swiss franc’s peg against the euro.

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Whether you’re a collector, or just curious to find out more about your old football memorabilia, The National Football Collection will be at the National Football Museum in Manchester to value, advise and acquire all football related and sporting items. Items that you own could even be one day displayed at the museum for all visitors to see.

The NFC is the National Football Museum's Official Valuation Partner and will be hosting valuation events throughout the year, starting on 16 May 2015 between 10:00 - 17:00

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West Ham United are in “advanced discussions” with potential new shirt sponsors after their main commercial backer went bust for the second time in six years.

The online foreign exchange broker Alpari entered insolvency on Friday morning as a result of the Swiss National Bank’s shock move to decouple from the euro, causing investors to lose out and sustain heavy losses that exceeded their equity.

West Ham are in the second year of a three-year deal with the company, which also lends its name to one of the stands at Upton Park, and are believed to be owed around £4m on a contract worth around £3m per season.

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The evolution of the replica kit industry and subsequent rise in fans wearing sportswear as leisurewear has affected football shirt design, new University of Sheffield research has found.

Using a statistical analysis of a database of current Premier League and Football League teams' home kits since 1888, Dr Chris Stride, a statistician from the University's Institute of Work Psychology, writing for the journal Sport in History, found that although new kits had become more frequent, home shirt designs had actually become more governed by tradition over the last two decades.

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Manchester City are on the verge of opening talks with Nike to renegotiate the club’s £12 million-a-year kit deal with the American sportswear giants. Having signed their agreement with Nike in April 2012, the Premier League champions still have three years left to run on their current deal.

But with the club winning two Premier League titles and a Capital One Cup since linking up with Nike, and also establishing themselves as regular Champions League participants, City’s commercial value has grown and the club are ready to exploit their enhanced status by negotiating a package which better reflects their status.

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Nigeria are struggling to find a kit sponsor after German manufacturers Adidas decided not to renew its deal with the Super Eagles. In August, Adidas complained that Nigeria's coach and some players violated contractual obligations by wearing a rival's kit at major events.

And now Nigeria have lost a deal worth $7m-a-year, which will increase the problems for the cash-strapped team.

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Barcelona could adopt horizontal stripes on their home kit for the first time in the club's 115-year history, according to reports in Spain.

Catalan newspaper Diario Sport have revealed that an inside source at the club claims president Josep Maria Bartomeu has already approved the design, after meeting with sports manufacturing giants Nike at a secret meeting at the Nou Camp on Monday.

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Payday loans company Wonga has agreed with Newcastle United football club to remove its logo from children's kit and training wear.

But Wonga said that due to kit production schedules this would not be until the 2016/17 football season.

The firm's new chairman, Andy Haste, said on his appointment in July that he would review the company's marketing.

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Former England goalkeeper David James is to auction hundreds of items of football memorabilia collected during his career. James, who played for Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham, Manchester City and Portsmouth, was declared bankrupt in May.

Among the items being sold through Kent-based auctioneer Hilco are 150 signed shirts, shorts and match balls. Shirts including an England home kit signed by the team, and a bright pink Portsmouth goalkeeper's jersey, are expected to sell for upwards of £30-50 each.

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On Tuesday, Florentino Pérez will announce the first of several agreements that are in the pipeline with the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

This state enterprise, entirely owned by the Abu Dhabi government, looks likely to lend its name to the new Santiago Bernabéu, once the legal obstacles currently preventing the start of work on the stadium have been cleared up.

This first agreement, however, is purely for general sponsorship and is believed to be worth around €20 million a season - a similar amount to what Emirates pays for its kit deal with the club.

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