Norwich City FC have announced that shirts of Brazilian side Coritiba are now on sale at their Carrow Road store and will soon be available from their website. It comes as part of a partnership between the two clubs that started earlier this summer.
Norwich Sell Coritiba Shirts in Club Shop
In addition to having three of their own fantastic kits available to buy this season, Norwich are also selling shirts of Brazilian Serie A team Coritiba. One club selling another's shirts is definitely something of an anomaly in football, but the reason for it is a "strategic football partnership" between the two that has just started and will continue over the years to come.
Coritiba's shirts are produced by in-house brand 1909.
The deal was announced three months ago and of course it runs deeper than the sale of a few replica kits. The following quote was part of the statement made by Norwich announcing the news:
"The partnership officially formalises the sharing of knowledge and best practices that has been established between the two clubs in recent months. Over the coming period the clubs will continue to further develop the existing relationships across areas such as the football, recruitment, performance, data, analysis and communication departments."
Norwich took three young players from their partner club on trial over the summer, and more players can surely be expected to move between the two sides over the course of the agreement. Coritiba's already established scouting network in Brazil and across South America will no doubt be made use of by the Canaries.
The shirts could sell well as they're not widely available in the UK and the announcement has received a very positive reaction from fans of both clubs. Would you like to see your team form a similar partnership with another club? If so, who? Let us know in the comments section.