Manchester City make bold kit change decision ahead of Huddersfield FA Cup clash

FA Cup holders Manchester City have made an important decision concerning their kits for this season’s competition, it has been confirmed in the run-up to this weekend.

City return to action in the domestic cup competition for the first time since winning the tournament in their penultimate game of the historic 2022/23 Treble-winning season at Wembley Stadium.

Manchester City’s 2-1 win over bitter city rivals Manchester United – inspired by a brace from former club captain Ilkay Gundogan – followed up a Premier League title win and set the club on their way to a UEFA Champions League win over Inter in Istanbul.

The Emirates FA Cup presents Manchester City with their third chance of silverware this season, following on from successes in the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup already this campaign.

However, before the competition has even kicked off at the Etihad Stadium this weekend for Pep Guardiola and his players, talk off the pitch has intensified over the relationship between Manchester City and the FA Cup’s leading sponsor.

As per confirmation from the Daily Star, Manchester City will once again snub wearing the Emirates FA Cup sleeve patches in this season’s competition, starting with Sunday afternoon’s meeting with Huddersfield Town.

Emirates are one of two flag carrying airlines of the United Arab Emirates, with Manchester City’s main sponsor Etihad being the other.

Etihad currently occupy the dominant sponsorship space on the club’s kits and have done for several years, whilst also owning the naming rights to the City of Manchester Stadium. Notably, in the 2019 FA Cup final, Manchester City added the word ‘choose’ above their Etihad sponsor, as a direct response to Emirates’ sponsorship of the competition.

Manchester City cruised to victory in the 2019 final, thrashing Watford 6-0 in would become Pep Guardiola’s first success in the competition, and mark another historic season in English football for the Catalan coach.

City will travel to Newcastle United next weekend in their final domestic contest before the Premier League breaks for a winter rest period, with Pep Guardiola and his players expected to travel to Abu Dhabi for a warm weather training camp.