Anshuman JoshiThis 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 – FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 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.
E.ON
E.ON is a German electric utility company headquartered in Essen. Its British division signed a long-term partnership agreement with the FA in February 2024.
Focusing on “the grassroots football community”, the partnership entails the two parties working on a decarbonisation programme and help grassroots football clubs across England become more sustainable, to which end E.ON provides them with bespoke sustainability solutions, energy-saving kit packs, and educational resources.
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.
Since 2018, Budweiser has been serving as the official beer partner to 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.
Coca-Cola
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, making it their Official Digital Partner, as well as the Official Digital Transformation Partner of The Emirates 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.
Dettol
The Reckitt-owned antiseptic and disinfectant brand became the official hygiene partner of the FA in February 2021 in a deal covering England’s senior men’s and women’s teams, Wembley Stadium, St George’s Park (the FA’s national football centre located in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire), and the wider grassroots game.
Apart from branding rights, the deal sees the two work together to enforce tight hygiene protocols across all FA-affiliated events. The FA also provides access to Dettol products and educational resources to pertinent players and staff.
In July 2022, Dettol launched its first ad campaign in association with the FA, titled “Dettol Up, Support England”.
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”.
Emirates
The UAE flag carrier airline’s partnership with the FA has seen the former serve as the title sponsor of the FA Cup—one of the oldest club football competitions in the world—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. It was once again renewed in November 2021 and is currently set to run until 2024.
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.
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 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.
Buildbase
Buildbase is a British builders’ merchant and is owned by Wales-based builders merchants chain Huws Gray. Since August 2016, Buildbase has been the title sponsor of the FA Trophy (a dedicated men’s knockout competition for the semi-professional football clubs in the UK) and the FA Vase (a dedicated men’s knockout competition for the amateur football clubs playing in the ninth and tenth tier of the English footballing pyramid).
Builbase’s partnership with the FA sees further support offered to the British semi-professional and amateur football clubs via the Buildbase non-League Club Renovation programme, through which Buildbase offers select qualified clubs—that apply—tens of thousands of pounds for renovation of club facilities.
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 saw 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 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 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 Emirates FA Cup, the Women’s FA Cup, the Isuzu FA Vase, the Isuzu 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 the deal, National Express offers its transport services nationwide for all events happening at Wembley Stadium, footballing or otherwise.
The two parties last renewed their partnership in November 2019. The deal is currently set to run until 2023.
Nationwide Building Society
After ending its eleven-year association with the FA in July 2010 at the back of a disappointing World Cup campaign in South Africa, Swindon-based mutual financial institution Nationwide Building Society returned as an official partner of the FA in August 2020.
This time, the partnership is focused on promoting the FA’s Respect campaign, which aims to promote a positive and inclusive communal experience for everyone via football right from the grassroots level. Nationwide also holds image rights for the FA’s players to feature in its promotional content.
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.
PayPal
The California-based online payments company has served as an official partner to the FA since February 2019. In accordance with the partnership, the two parties have launched an app to facilitate easy online payments for the fans for match tickets.
PayPal also gets image rights for FA-affiliated players to feature in its promotional content. In July 2022, it released a short film featuring England international Demi Stokes, the St Johns Deaf women’s football team, and graduates of Football Beyond Borders Girls Programme. The short film was a part of the company’s “PayPal It Your Way” campaign.
Pokémon
The Japanese media franchise signed an initial three-year deal with the FA in September 2019 to support its National Futsal Programme, an initiative aimed at promoting futsal among schoolchildren and football clubs.
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.
Vitality
Vitality is a British company specialising in private medical insurance sold to the British market which offers health insurance, life insurance and car insurance as well as investments. It’s also a well-known name in sports across the UK, having sponsorship deals in place with several big-name sporting institutions.
Vitality’s current partnership with the FA was announced in February 2020. The three-year deal sees the company serve as the title sponsor of the Women’s FA Cup.
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) — 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.
