New Rochdale AFC kit 2011/12 plus new sponsors

Rochdale announced that a press conference would take place at the club today...we started to ponder, what could it be? We never have press conferences, ideas started swilling around. Was Keith Hill leaving? Had we bought the remaining shares in the stadium? Or even were we being taken over by some Eastern billionaires? It was none of them.



In fact, it was to announce our new sponsors - The Co-operative - in a two year deal that will see them as our main sponsors as well as revealing our new kits for the 2011/12 season. (I hope Rochdale AFC don't mind me using this image from their website, so I have also accredited them!)

Image copyright Rochdaleafc.co.uk

The new sponsorships starts from today and the players will wear the new Rochdale kit for the last game of the season on Saturday against Peterborough. In a statement on the official website they said: "The Co-operative will not only benefit from branding on shirts and stadium but will also be running a number of promotions to drive more fans to the stadium to watch live football."



I personally think it's a fantastic sponsor to have and so do the rest of Dale fans; The Co-operative was formed in Rochdale in 1844 and it just seems right.



Now onto the new kit for 2011/12...although they've only released a quick snapshot my first impressions are rather good. I'm not totally convinced about the home shirt, it looks too much like this season's and I am not a fan of the neckline, but I really like the white away shirt with the purple stripe, it looks pretty smart in my opinion. There will be more pictures of the kit released later, so I'll update when I can.



A small number of the new shirts will be available from 2.30pm today but there is very limited stock and the rest will arrive in May. Give me your thoughts on the new Rochdale 2011/12 shirt, what do you think?



You can read more about the new sponsor and new kits on the official Rochdale AFC website and Rochdale Online.