This article contains information regarding the organisations enjoying a strong branding presence across the physical and digital assets of the men’s and/or women‘s teams of Liverpool Football Club (LFC) as their sponsors and partners for the 2023–24 season.
Standard Chartered has been the Main Partner of Liverpool Football Club since 2010. The London-headquartered British multinational banking and financial services company has seen its logo front the Reds’ matchday kits for over a decade. Their current deal is reportedly worth around £40 million per annum.
In May 2018, Liverpool FC and Standard Chartered penned an extension agreement, which saw a £10m increase over the previous annual revenue, with the partnership set to run until the end of the 2022–23 season.
In July 2022, the two announced another extension of their partnership, with the deal now set to run until the end of the 2026–27 season. The new agreement also covers the senior women’s team of the club.
Standard Chartered has enjoyed a fruitful global exposure while working with the club, engaging over 37 million people across the club’s platforms, and featuring the club legends of present and past times in its promotional collaborations with the club.
Also Read – Premier League teams’ principal shirt sponsors for 2023–24 season
In January 2020, Liverpool FC announced Nike as their new Official Kit Supplier starting with the 2020–21 season in a multi-year deal reportedly worth £30 million per year. While this value is less than the £45 million New Balance, another American sportswear company, was paying the club every year, Nike’s promise of increased brand value and better sales and sales-based addons turned the Merseyside club to the Beaverton, Oregon-headquartered sportswear giant.
Nike’s proposal of paying Liverpool FC a 20-percent cut of the sales of all club-branded products makes this partnership capable of being the most lucrative one in English football.
Liverpool FC’s stock has resurged over the past seasons with their renaissance as a powerhouse under Jürgen Klopp, at the back of which they released their previous kit supplier, New Balance, which they deemed could no longer match the marketing and distribution potential Nike was offering, which was more congruent with their ambition. This led to a legal dispute, and eventually, the London High Court ruled in the club’s favour, ending their association with New Balance on a relatively bitter note.
Also Read – Premier League clubs and their kit suppliers for the 2023/24 season
The Paris-headquartered French insurance firm first joined hands with Liverpool FC in October 2018, when it became their global insurance partner as part of an initial four-year deal.
Later, in May 2019, the two expanded their partnership to make AXA the club’s training kit partner, also making it the front-of-shirt sponsor of LFC’s training and pre-match exercise kits in a deal reportedly worth £20 million per year.
In October 2020, the two further strengthened their ties by making AXA the title sponsor of LFC’s then-newly-opened training facility for their men’s team, which is thusly called the AXA Training Centre (previously called The Academy, Kirkby).
In September 2023, AXA acquired the naming rights for the Liverpool senior women’s team’s training complex at Melwood, which is since known as the AXA Melwood Training Centre.
The two parties last officially renewed their partnership in Aril 2024. The current deal is set to run until 2029.
The Seattle-headquartered American online travel shopping company became a Principal Partner of LFC and the Official Sleeve Sponsor for the matchday kits of both their men’s and women’s teams in October 2020 in a deal initially set to run until the end of the 2022–23 season.
Expedia replaced American financial services company Western Union, which prematurely ended its sleeve sponsorship deal with the club, having signed a five-year agreement in August 2017.
In March 2023, the two parties announced a four-year extension of their partnership.
Apart from the aforementioned branding rights, the deal also entails Expedia facilitating transport planning for LFC fans, including “free supporter transport” for all Women’s Super League matches of the LFC senior women’s team. The two also work on the content series “Nothing Beats Being There”, which is aimed at telling “emotive stories from players and real fans describing their journeys to some of the most iconic matches from the men’s and women’s recent history”.
Also Read – Premier League teams’ sleeve sponsors for 2023–24 season
When Liverpool FC’s partnership with Vesterbro, Copenhagen-headquartered Danish brewer Carlsberg was extended in May 2019 to run until 2024, it became the longest running partnership in Premier League history; Carlsberg has been sponsoring the club since 1992.
In August 2019, Carlsberg released a club-themed red pilsner to commemorate the club’s legendary former manager Bill Shankly’s decision to play in an all-red kit.
The two parties announced a “historic” ten-year extension of their partnership in December 2023.
The Boston-headquartered American storage services provider was announced as Liverpool FC’s official cloud storage partner in February 2022.
The deal allows Wasabi to tap into LFC’s global fanbase to increase its brand value, while the Merseyside club leverage Wasabi’s storage and data innovation solutions to amp up their digital evolution.
Beiersdorf-owned German male skincare brand Nivea Men first partnered with LFC in February 2015. Over the years, the partnership between the two has entailed TV adverts featuring LFC players, co-production of content series, and collaboration over fan-engagement activities.
The two parties last renewed their partnership in August 2022. The current deal is set to run until the end of the 2025–26 season.
The Racine, Wisconsin-headquartered household cleaning supplies manufacturer and consumer chemicals producer signed a multi-year agreement with the club in September 2021, which the two parties called a “Goals for Change” partnership.
The deal entails initiatives for raising awareness around recycling plastics and maintaining hygiene. A co-branded upcycling programme at Anfield (the senior men’s team home ground), sees all plastic bottles disposed on matchdays recycled for use as SC Johnson products. The company’s cleaning products are used to clean the premises both in and around Anfield and the AXA Training Centre. The deal also entails production of co-branded content featuring LFC players to spread the good word of sustainability.
A design and marketing company supporting small businesses around the world, Waltham, Massachusetts-headquartered Vista signed its first UK deal when it became the official small business design and marketing partner of Liverpool FC in February 2022.
As per the deal, the two parties collaborate over “programmes that celebrate small businesses in the global LFC community” and promote them via the club’s assets. The two also work on design initiatives for the purpose of fan engagement.
The Bunky?, Tokyo-headquartered Japanese publishing company was announced as Liverpool FC’s official publication partner in a multi-year agreement in June 2021. Kodansha works with the club’s charity, the LFC Foundation, over the course of the partnership.
In September 2021, Kodansha launched “Creative Works”, an employability programme aimed at young fans to inspire them to achieve careers in the creative industry. Kodansha has also made frequent donations of creative and art materials to the wider Liverpool community over the course of the partnership to support children’s literacy from a young age.
The two parties announced a long-term renewal of their partnership in July 2023. The new deal not only covers the LFC senior women’s team, it also extends the “Creative Works” programme to the US.
Apart from branding rights, the deal entails “enhancing the experience for the LFC and Peloton communities by introducing supporters to Peloton’s world-class content, which can be experienced anytime, anywhere and wherever people are on their fitness journey,” with co-branded content creation and “unforgettable” experiences also part of the agreement.
Covering both the men’s and women’s teams of the club, the deal also sees Peloton training equipment supplied to the male LFC players at the AXA Training Centre, with the company having also promised to do the same for the LFC women’s team’s training facility in Melwood in the near future.
The partnership, covering both the LFC men’s and women’s teams, entails content-creation projects, including the “Pitchside, Presented by Pixel” series, which features exclusive matchday content that is shared across the club’s social media channels. The two also work together on creating a YouTube-exclusive “dedicated women’s football show”, which is aimed to go “behind the scenes during an exciting season for the Reds in the Barclays Women’s Super League”.
The partnership also sees Liverpool FC support the “Pixel FC” initiative, which Google describes as “a collective of next-generation creators dedicated to the women’s game” who are given additional resourcoes and content-creation opportunities during the club’s games.
In July 2019, EA Sports signed a multi-year deal with Liverpool FC to become their official video game partner via its annually released FIFA video game series (rebranded to EA Sports FC with its 2023 release). The deal also ended Liverpool’s three-year run with FIFA’s biggest commercial rival, Japanese video game developer Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer (now eFootball).
The deal sees EA Sports hold exclusive rights to feature LFC’s licensing, which includes real-life likeness of their players, kits and stadium, in its annual EA Sports FC release, along with other fan-centric initiatives.
The two parties last renewed their partnership in February 2022 as part of a “long-term” agreement.
LFC signed a three-year deal with the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority in July 2020 with an aim to promote the country as a premium global tourist destination and business hub for Africa.
The two parties last renewed their partnership in August 2022, with the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority continuing on as LFC’s Official Tourism and Economic Development Partner.
Apart from branding rights, the deal grants Predator Energy image rights for LFC’s branding, including that of their players, for promotional purposes.
An end-to-end cloud-driven networking solutions provider, San Jose, California-based Extreme Networks was announced as LFC’s Official Wi-Fi Network Solutions and Analytics Provider in October 2022.
Apart from branding rights, the partnership entails Extreme fitting “Anfield with Extreme Wi-Fi 6E access points, which will deliver the latest generation of wireless connectivity, and enable fans to take advantage of the club’s innovative digital offerings, including mobile ticketing and membership rewards”. Moreover, analytics provided by the company’s proprietary tech ExtremeAnalytics provides the club real-time data pertaining to fans’ digital activity inside the stadium, helping them “deliver more personalised fan experiences”.
The American beverages giant was announced as an Official Partner of the club in September 2022.
Covering both the men’s and women’s teams of the club, the partnership entails providing the Reds fans with unique matchday experiences as well as production of limited-edition co-branded merchandise.
The Uxbridge-based British confectionary giant has been Liverpool FC’s Official Global Chocolate Partner since September 2020. The announcement of this deal was celebrated with limited-edition LFC-themed chocolate bars.
As part of the deal, the Mondel?z-owned brand supported the club’s Virtual Employability Programme — a service for helping those who have lost their jobs or are at the brink of it because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Volunteers from Cadbury also work on the Official Liverpool FC Works Programme, which is aimed at preparing young people from the Liverpool City Region “for the world of work”.
The two parties announced a renewal of their partnership in June 2023.
Sorare is a blockchain-based digital collectibles and fantasy football platform developed by Saint-Mandé, Paris-headquartered French company SORARE SAS.
LFC first partnered with Sorare in 2021, which saw digital cards of their men’s first team launched on the Sorare platform. In September 2022, Liverpool FC expanded this partnership to make Sorare an Official Global Partner. The expansion entails enhanced production of co-branded multimedia content and fan experiences for Reds supporters worldwide.
The deal, apart from branding rights, entails LFC using UPS’s logistics solutions to expand and improve their retail and e-commerce operations. Collaboration over fan engagement activities is also part of the agreement.
As per the press release made available on the Interwetten website, the partnership entails “offline promotions and content on LFC’s digital platforms in-market”, with the two parties also collaborating on an entertainment programme “that puts fans at the core of each activation, with guaranteed goosebump moments”.
Liverpool FC signed a US-based official affinity partnership deal with San Francisco-headquartered custom-themed credit card—issued by First Electronic Bank—provider Cardless in April 2022 to offer club-themed credit cards to Reds fans in the States.
Having launched in June 2022, the deal allows LFC fans in the US to apply for the Cardless credit cards and avail exclusive benefits pertaining to their favourite football club.
Also Read – Liverpool FC inks collaboration with All Star Partners in China
AEG Presents is an American live-entertainment events organising company headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Apart from branding rights, the deal entails LFC leveraging “Orion’s two decades of deep experience transforming the business operations of some of the biggest sports leagues and teams across the UK, Europe, the USA, and Asia Pacific.” The solutions offered by Orion are supposed to help the club further connect with their global fanbase.
In May 2024, LFC announced a retail partnership agreement in Indonesia by partnering with PT Kanmo Weston Retailindo, a joint venture between the club’s Singaporean retail partner Weston Corporation and and Indonesian retail business Kanmo Group.
The partnership entails distribution rights for online retail of official LFC merchandise, with construction of brick-and-mortar official club stores in the country also part of the agreement.
Husqvarna is a Swedish company manufacturing power products “for professional landscaping and tree care in parks, forests, sports arenas, playgrounds, private gardens – and many other green spaces”, as mentioned on the company’s LinkedIn profile.
In July 2024, the club roped in Husqvarna as their official groundskeeping partner on a multi-year deal, having already been using its robotic mowers to maintain the pitches of their stadiums and training centres since 2021.
The deal entails Husqvarna’s products and solutions being “more deeply integrated into LFC’s groundskeeping teams’ daily routines and pitch upkeep, making them a key part of creating and maintaining optimal pitch conditions for elite-level playing and training.”
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