This article contains information regarding the organisations enjoying a strong branding presence across the England men’s and/or women’s national football teams’ physical and digital assets as sponsors and partners of the Football Association.
Name of the football association: The Football Association (FA)
Also read: UEFA Euro 2024 Sponsors
Nike
The American sportswear giant has served as the official kit supplier to the FA since 2013, when it replaced domestic brand Umbro.
In December 2016, Nike agreed a 12-year extension to its deal with the FA, effective from 2018, which was reported to be worth north of £400 million—the biggest sponsorship deal in FA history.
In August 2022, Nike signed a new deal with the FA, this one specifically focusing on women’s football. The extension made Nike the official ball provider of the Barclays Women’s Super League (the topflight of women’s professional football in the UK), the Barclays Women’s Championship (the second tier of women’s professional football in the UK), and the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup (a dedicated knockout competition for all professional women’s football teams in the UK).
EE
Owned by the BT Group, Hatfield-headquartered mobile network operator EE serves as the official Connectivity Partner of Wembley Stadium, the FA’s designated home ground of the England national football teams.
The partnership ensures EE oversees regulation of the 4G and 5G signals at Wembley Stadium.
In June 2022, the FA and EE announced a three-year deal that would see BT Sport exclusively broadcast the FA Disability Cup.
Adobe
The San Jose, California–headquartered multinational software giant was announced as the lead sponsor of the Women’s FA Cup in November 2023.
The deal, set to run until July 2026, grants Adobe title sponsorship rights for the tournament while also focusing on “increasing fan engagement and raising the profile of the competition”, to which end all participating clubs in the competition get access to as well as training on Adobe’s AI-first content creation app, Express.
Barclays
The British investment bank has had a long-standing association with English football. Barclays was the title sponsor of the Premier League from 2001 to 2015, during which the league was eponymously called the Barclays Premier League.
Currently, Barclays serves not only as the official bank to the Premier League, but also as the title sponsor to the FA Women’s Super League and the FA Women’s Championship.
Budweiser
The American beer brand has worked with the FA on multiple projects dating back to 2002. It served as the title sponsor for the FA Cup between 2011 and 2014—the position Emirates currently holds.
In 2018, Budweiser was announced as the official beer partner of the England men’s and women’s national football teams, having replaced Carlsberg.
The partnership grants Budweiser—apart from branding rights—pouring rights during England’s home matches at Wembley Stadium.
Carling
Carling Brewery replaced Budweiser as the official beer of the men’s and Women’s FA Cups after signing a deal with the FA in January 2023.
In the past, the Molson Coors-owned British beer brand has served as the title sponsor to both the Premier League (1993 to 2001) and the League Cup (2003 to 2012).
Chase
In February 2024, New York-based multinational bank Chase signed a four-year, UK-wide deal to become the Official Banking Partner of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations.
As per the deal, Chase’s logo features on the training kit of both the men’s and women’s national football teams of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The partnership also entails Chase “supporting individuals across the UK from low income backgrounds by providing access to fully funded coaching qualifications and free learning tools, helping to develop transferable skills for life on and off the pitch.”
Coca-Cola UK
The British arm of the American beverage giant also serves as an official partner to the FA. The partnership sees Coca-Cola’s products made available during the home matches of all FA-affiliated national teams.
Cognizant
The New Jersey-based American product-led digital corporation signed a deal with the FA in November 2017, thus becoming its Official Digital Partner, the Official Digital Transformation Partner of the FA Cup, and the Official Digital Transformation Partner of Club Wembley.
The partnership came into being to bolster the FA’s digital engagement programme and improve fan engagement experience in an ever-increasing digital world.
A partnership renewal agreement was announced in September 2023, which designates Cognizant as “the Digital Transformation Partner of The FA, Official Partner of the Emirates FA Cup, Official Partner of the Women’s FA Cup, Official Partner of The FA Community Shield, and Official Partner of England Football.”
Disney
The Los Angeles-headquartered entertainment giant has worked with the FA over the years to encourage women and young girls in the UK to participate in the footballing world.
In July 2017, the FA and Disney launched the “Dream Big, Princess” campaign, which was centred around the England women’s national team and had their players featuring in promotional videos encouraging young girls to play football.
In April 2018, the two parties announced a three-year partnership that would entail a co-branded multi-platform campaign in support of FA Girls’ Football Week, which is an annual nationwide campaign via which the FA aims to “encourage girls of all experiences and abilities to take part in football, get active and raise the profile of the female game”.
In June 2023, ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the two collaborated on a short story titled Ella: A Modern Day Fairytale, which was aimed at showing that “football is for everyone and inspires girls to give football a go in the playground at school or at their local club.”
Emirates
The UAE flag carrier airline’s partnership with the FA has seen the former serve as the title sponsor to the FA Cup since its 2015 edition. The original deal signed between the two parties was reportedly worth £10 million per year.
The two parties extended their original deal in 2018 in a three-year agreement. This was once again renewed in November 2021 and ran until 2024. Another extension was announced in August 2024, which dictates the partnership running until the 2027/28 FA Cup.
Extra | KIND | Snickers | Mars Wrigley UK
Wrigley UK, a division of American confectionery and pet food company Mars’ subsidiary Wrigley Company, has been a long-time partner of the FA.
The last partnership renewal between the FA and Wrigley UK was announced in June 2023. In the official statement released by the FA, it was mentioned that the renewal would see the partnership move on from Wrigley’s chocolate brand Snickers to its nutrition-oriented snack bar KIND in 2023 and then its sugar-free chewing gum brand Extra in 2024.
The deal covers the England men’s, women’s, and para national football teams affiliated with the FA.
Fanatics
The Florida-based sports merchandising company signed a five-year deal with the FA in December 2018.
The partnership grants Fanatics manufacturing and distributing rights for official FA merchandise. The company also operates all of the FA’s online retail stores, as well as the ones at Wembley Stadium.
The two parties renewed and expanded their partnership in August 2024, the latter making Fanatics an official FA partner and entailing “sourcing new licensees where required, ensuring that our [the FA’s] merchandise remains best-in-class across all categories.”
Google Cloud
The Google-offered cloud computing services suite signed a four-year deal with the FA as its official cloud and data analytics partner in May 2019.
The partnership sees Google Cloud assist the FA on the technical and analytics side of footballing operations to assess and optimise overall player performance.
Google Pixel
Google’s consumer electronics brand Pixel was announced as the FA’s Official Mobile Phone and Earbuds partner in June 2023.
The partnership, covering both the England men’s and women’s national football teams, entails the FA being “kitted up with Pixel phones to capture the action on and off the pitch, capturing exclusive footage through the lens of the Pixel camera”. Part of the content-creation projects undertaken by the two parties includes the “Pitchside, Presented by Pixel” series, “featuring matchday content, pre-match snippets, and post-match reactions” that are shared across the FA’s social media channels. The partnership officially kicked off with the “Pixel FC” initiative, which Google described as “a collective of next-generation creators dedicated to the women’s game” who are given additional resources and content-creation opportunities during the Lionesses’ games.
Howdens Kitchen
The London-based British kitchen supplier partnered with football associations across the UK to launch the “Game Changer” programme in April 2023.
As per its deal with the FA, Howdens has pledged to fund £3m worth of kitchens of the English grassroots clubs accredited with the national footballing body.
Isuzu UK
The British division of Japanese automaker Isuzu has been the title sponsor of the FA Trophy as well as the FA Vase, two semi-professional knockout football tournaments, since June 2022.
LG
The South Korean electronics giant was announced as an official partner of the FA in November 2017 in an initial three-year deal reportedly worth £2 million per year.
The deal has seen LG install at Wembley Stadium “a replacement 460-square-metre LED façade on the outside the venue’s Great Hall, and two satellite 230-square-metre displays above the revamped main entrance”, while also “replacing the venue’s 1,200 plasma screens with LED products, to further support Wembley’s position as one of the world’s greatest venues for sport and entertainment”.
In May 2021, the two parties announced a renewal of their partnership on a two-year deal initially covering the FA’s men’s and women’s national football teams as well as its national esports team.
Lucozade
Owned by Japanese company Suntory, sports drink Lucozade has served as the Official Sports Drink and Hydration Partner to the England men’s national football team since 2008.
In March 2019, Lucozade extended its partnership with the FA by signing a multi-year extension that would see the sports drink brand become an official partner of the England women’s national football team, in an attempt to cash in on the ever-increasingly popularity of the women’s side of the game within the country and beyond.
Marks & Spencer (M&S) Food
The London-headquartered British retailer joined hands with the FA in May 2022 to launch the “Eat Well, Play Well” campaign. Featuring the England men’s and women’s national teams’ players and coaches, the campaign was focused on encouraging the English people to make healthier eating choices.
By promoting its products by offering them to the national teams’ players and coaches, M&S Food aims to bring the fans closer to their favourite team and players by encouraging them to go for the same products their “heroes” use in their everyday diet.
M&S Food has similar deals in place with the respective football associations of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Mitre
The British sports equipment manufacturer signed an initial three-year deal with the FA in August 2018.
The partnership sees Mitre supply its footballs for many of the FA’s major domestic competitions, including the FA Cup, the Women’s FA Cup, the FA Vase, the FA Trophy, and the Golden Ball Awards.
In October 2023, Mitre unveiled the new “Ultimax Pro” football that would be used for the men’s and Women’s FA Cups during the 2023/24 season. The official FA press release regarding the same also announced that Mitre and the FA had extended their partnership, which is now set to run until the end of the 2026/27 season.
National Express
The Birmingham-headquartered intercity and inter-regional coach operator and the FA go back a long way, with the former having served the latter in multiple capacities over the years.
Currently, National Expresses’ partnership with the FA sees it serve as the Official Coach Supplier to Wembley Stadium. As per this deal, National Express offers its transport services nationwide for all events happening at Wembley Stadium, footballing or otherwise.
The two parties last officially renewed their partnership in November 2019.
Nuffield Health
The Epsom-headquartered British healthcare charity was announced as the FA’s official health and wellbeing partner in May 2022 on a five-year deal.
Aimed at raising awareness about the importance of one’s physical and mental health, the partnership—apart from branding rights—entails collaboration over co-branded initiatives.
Thomas Lyte
Based in London and specialising in luxury leather accessories and silverware, British company Thomas Lyte was announced as the official trophy and silverware supplier of both the FA and the Emirates FA Cup in May 2021 on a five-year deal.
Walkers
The Leicester-headquartered British snack food manufacturer also serves as an official partner to the FA.
Apart from branding rights, the partnership sees Walkers’ products made available during the home matches of all of the FA’s national teams.
Weetabix
The Kettering-based British whole-grain wheat breakfast cereal brand was announced as an official partner of the FA in November 2020 in a deal that would commence in April 2021.
The deal is focused on encouraging people to make healthy dietary and lifestyle choices via the “Eat Well, Live Well, Play Well” initiative.
Weetabix also sponsors Wildcats (thusly known as “Weetabix Wildcats”), which is an FA initiative aimed at providing young girls opportunities to play football.
Xbox
Xbox signed a deal with the FA in August 2021, which made the Microsoft-owned video gaming brand the Official Gaming Partner of the England national men’s, women’s, and esports teams, as well as Wembley Stadium and St George’s Park.
Apart from branding rights, the deal entails the two parties collaborating on a variety of fan-engagement projects aimed at encouraging and celebrating diversity and inclusivity across all forms of football.
Xero
Wellington-headquartered Kiwi small-business management platform Xero announced two commercial partnerships with the FA in September 2022.
As per the two agreements, Xero is to act as “the Official Partner of both the England women’s senior team and England Football”, “work with the FA Grassroots Team, County Football Associations, and the FA Club Consultants to provide access to a comprehensive range of educational resources for clubs’ financial management”, and “provide a platform for grassroots clubs to find and connect with local accountants and bookkeepers.”
Leave a Reply