Key facts
- Premier League clubs have replaced gambling sponsors with new partners across various sectors.
- Finance is the most prevalent sector for front-of-shirt sponsorship, with six clubs featuring financial brands.
- The tech and web sector has secured sponsorships with five Premier League clubs.
- Major airlines, drinks brands, tourism, and health companies are also among the new sponsors.
- Sponsorship is increasingly viewed as a strategic asset for clubs to enhance fan engagement and on-pitch competitiveness.
The Premier League season has begun with a noticeable absence of gambling and casino brands on the front of players' shirts. This change stems from a voluntary agreement among the 20 Premier League clubs to remove such companies from this prominent advertising space. The move has prompted a scramble for clubs to find new sponsors and mitigate the financial impact of losing betting industry partnerships.
Finance has emerged as the most common sector for front-of-shirt sponsorship, with six teams now featuring financial brands. Some of these, like American Express for Brighton and Hove Albion and AIA for Tottenham Hotspur, are long-standing agreements. Standard Chartered continues its partnership with Liverpool. Newly promoted Coventry has maintained its Championship sponsor, Monzo, marking the brand's first appearance on a Premier League front-of-shirt. Everton has partnered with CMC Markets, a deal also considered by Fulham. Nottingham Forest announced a £25 million deal with Marex, a company linked to SpaceX.
The technology and web sector has also become a significant player, securing five Premier League clubs. Manchester United continues its deal with Snapdragon. Brentford has upgraded its existing partnership with Indeed, making the job vacancy site its front-of-shirt sponsor. Fulham has turned to data firm ClickHouse, while Crystal Palace will feature tech infrastructure firm Temporal. Newly promoted Ipswich has replaced Ed Sheeran with Halo.
Surprisingly, airlines represent a smaller sector but feature major carriers. Emirates has extended its deal with Arsenal, marking over 20 years of partnership. Etihad remains the front-of-shirt sponsor for Manchester City. Hull City's new principal partner is Corendon Airlines, a Turkish budget carrier. Drinks brands are also present, with Red Bull sponsoring Leeds United and Knox featuring for Newcastle United. Tourism is represented by Visit Rwanda, which has moved from a sleeve deal with Arsenal to a front-of-shirt partnership with Aston Villa. In the health sector, Vitality has upgraded its existing partnership to front-of-shirt for Brentford.
While most clubs have secured sponsors, Sunderland is reportedly finalizing a deal with Visit Ghana. Chelsea, meanwhile, continues without a full-time front-of-shirt sponsor, having previously used AI firm IFS. Harvey Taylor, head of strategy and consulting at Mongoose, noted that sponsorship is increasingly a strategic lever for clubs, moving beyond simple revenue generation to create solution-led partnerships that can enhance fan engagement and ultimately support on-pitch competitiveness.