Key facts
- Fulham FC has secured a front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with Silicon Valley AI firm ClickHouse.
- ClickHouse is valued at $15 billion and serves companies like Meta, Tesla, and OpenAI.
- The sponsorship replaces the previous deal with gambling brand SBOTOP.
- The move coincides with the Premier League's ban on betting brands as front-of-shirt sponsors starting in the 2026-27 season.
- Crystal Palace has also partnered with an AI company, Temporal, for their front-of-shirt sponsorship.
Fulham FC has announced a significant new front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with Silicon Valley-based artificial intelligence firm ClickHouse, valued at $15 billion. This move marks a shift away from gambling sponsorships, aligning with the Premier League's voluntary ban on betting brands as front-of-shirt sponsors, which comes into effect for the 2026-27 season.
ClickHouse, an open-source database platform known for its data processing speed, serves major technology companies including Meta, Tesla, OpenAI, Visa, and Sony. The partnership replaces Fulham's previous sponsor, the gambling brand SBOTOP.
Fulham's chief revenue officer, Jon Don-Carolis, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating that the partnership reflects a shared commitment to innovation and progression. Similarly, ClickHouse CEO Aaron Katz highlighted the common values of high performance and speed between the two organizations, drawing parallels between split-second decisions on the football pitch and the millisecond decisions handled by their database.
Fulham joins other Premier League clubs in seeking new sponsorship arrangements. Crystal Palace has also replaced a betting sponsor with an AI company, Temporal, for the upcoming season. Several other clubs, including Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, and Hull City, are still in the process of announcing their front-of-shirt partners with the new season approaching.