This article contains information regarding the organisations enjoying a strong branding presence across Manchester City FC’s (MCFC) physical and digital assets as their sponsors for the 2022-23 Premier League season.
Also read: Manchester City Sponsors 2021-22
Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-headquartered UAE flag carrier, became the principal sponsor of Man City in 2011, acquiring not only the front space of the club’s kits but also the right for the name of their stadium; what was then called the City of Manchester Stadium came to eponymously be called the Etihad.
Man City’s decade-long deal with Etihad Airways went into its final year ahead of the 2020-21 season. Reportedly worth £67.5 million per year, the deal brought about a new outlook to the way sports sponsorship deals are made and scrutinised.
The Etihad deal has undoubtedly been fundamental in the turn of fortunes Man City have had over the last decade. When the deal came into being, the club were just being touted as the next big prospect. Ten years later, they have to their name several Premier League titles, the League Cups and the FA Cups, looking forever upwards. The Man City footballing campus has also been revamped — from the area surrounding the stadium to the new training complex.
The finances of the Etihad deal have always been under major scrutiny. In 2020, the City owners faced an infamous legal battle against UEFA, who had accused them of illegally putting money into the club’s coffers, with their fingers pointing to Etihad as one of those sponsorships. While City manage to swat away the allegation, it doesn’t change the fact that the Etihad deal remains shrouded in controversy, with the details regarding the length of contract and annual revenue generation of the current deal between the two parties remaining undisclosed.
In February 2023, the Premier League released a statement via which it brought against Man City several charges of breaches of its financial rules between 2009 and 2018. At the time of writing, the matter remains open and unresolved.
Man City ended a six-year association with Nike and signed German sportswear giant Puma as their official kit supplier in February 2019, with the deal kicking off with the 2019-20 season.
The deal is reportedly worth £650m over ten years and also covers Man City’s sister clubs in Australia (Melbourne City FC), Spain (Girona FC), Uruguay (Montevideo City Torque) and China (Sichuan Jiuniu FC).
In August 2022, Puma unveiled Man City’s third kit for the 2022-23 season on the Land of Games experience developed by game creation system Roblox, thereby taking their Man City partnership “into the metaverse”.
The Valletta-Malta headquartered crypto spot and derivatives trading exchange was announced as the club’s Official Cryptocurrency Exchange Partner in March 2022 in a deal covering the club’s men’s, women’s and esports sides.
OKX was confirmed in July 2022 as the principal front-of-training-shirt sponsor for the men’s and women’s first teams of Man City in a one-season deal.
Formerly known as Etisalat, Abu Dhabi-headquartered telecom company e& has been Man City’s telecommunications partner since November 2009 for the countries the company operates in.
Back in 2009, e& was Man City’s third global sponsorship appointment after Etihad and Umbro, with the partnership aimed by the City owners to expand their reach worldwide.
In February 2020, e& also became the official sleeve sponsor for the club’s esports team.
Man City struck a sponsorship deal with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority back in May 2010 as their official destination partner.
The deal was put in place by the club’s Emirati owners with an aim to market the UAE as a prime tourism and business destination.
Partners since 2015, NEXEN TIRE and Man City made history in March 2017 when the Yangsan-based South Korean tyre manufacturer became the first-ever sleeve sponsor of a Premier League club. Over the course of the partnership, the two have engaged in digital content collaborations while promoting football on a grassroots level.
The deal was renewed ahead of the start of 2020-21 season to include the club’s women’s and esports teams as well. Another renewal was announced in August 2022, covering the 2022-23 season.
In May 2023, the two parties announced another multi-year renewal of their partnership. NEXEN TIRE also announced that, with this renewal, its logo would no longer feature on the Man City kit after the end of the 2022-23 season, with the company choosing to focus on its “We Got You” brand identity — “focusing more on digital activations, creative content and increased localisation for priority markets.”
The Yokohama-headquartered Japanese automobile manufacturer has been Man City’s Official Automotive Sponsor since July 2014. The deal has granted Nissan in-ground branding at the Etihad and exclusive fan engagement opportunities.
The two parties extended their deal in July 2019 to also include City Football Group’s (CFG) other clubs in the US (New York City FC) and Australia (Melbourne City FC).
The two again renewed their deal in November 2021 to also include two other CFG football clubs from Spain (Girona FC) and China (Sichuan Jiuniu FC) apart from the aforementioned three. Pep Guardiola, the Man City men’s first team manager, was also signed on to continue as an official ambassador for Nissan, a role he first took up in 2019.
The Beijiao-based Chinese home appliance giant first signed a global partnership with Man City in January 2020. This was expanded in January 2021 to also include City’s women’s team and sister club, New York City FC. The two parties last announced a renewal of their partnership in May 2023.
Apart from branding rights, the deal sees Midea develop digital campaigns with the club across their social media channels.
EA Sports has been a long-time Official Gaming Partner of Man City. Since September 2019, it has served as the Official Gaming Partner to all CFG clubs that feature in its annual release of football simulation game FIFA.
The deal sees EA Sports produce exclusive content for the clubs’ social media channels as well as exclusive club-themed FIFA packages. EA’s deal with the Premier League sees the company hold exclusive rights to feature Man City’s licensing, which includes real-life likeness of players, kits and stadium, in its annual FIFA release.
The Abu Dhabi-based luxury hotel was announced as Man City’s Official Luxury Hotel Partner in January 2022. In the past, Emirates Palace has hosted Man City’s first team for warm-weather training sessions, with City Football Schools currently using the hotel’s facilities for “educational and community sessions”.
As part of branding rights, the Emirates Palace branding features most prominently on Man City’s men’s team’s training kits, with their manager Pep Guardiola also brought in to create co-branded promotional content.
Manchester City and Cisco have been partners since 2013. Their deal was revamped in October 2019 when CFG expanded Cisco’s association with Man City’s sister clubs: New York City FC, Melbourne City FC, Yokohama F. Marinos and Sichuan Jiuniu FC as their Official Technology Partner.
As per the deal, Cisco strives to enhance connectivity between the clubs, players and fans by the virtue of technology, and use sport for global positive reinforcement through CFG’s global youth empowerment initiative, Cityzens Giving.
In December 2022, Cisco announced that the Etihad Stadium had been equipped with its proprietary “real-time crowd intelligence technology” offering called “WaitTime”, which the company describes as follows:
“WaitTime, a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence platform, provides real-time information on crowd density, traffic and movement at major entertainment and sports venues around the world, with the goal of improving the guest experience and optimising operational efficiency for teams and organisations.”
Asahi Super Dry, a beer offering of Japanese beverage and food company Asahi Food Holdings, was announced as the Official Beer Partner of Man City in August 2022. The partnership also included the following CFG clubs: Melbourne City FC, Yokohama F. Marinos and Sichuan Juiniu FC.
The partnership was kicked off by former Man City players Shaun Wright-Phillips and Shaun Goater. Apart from branding rights, the deal also entails collaboration with Man City over fan engagement activities like giveaways and competitions with the start of the 2022-23 season. Asahi Super Dry is also poured inside the Etihad Stadium, whose hospitality facility has also been renamed to Asahi Super Dry Tunnel Club as part of the agreement between CFG and Asahi.
The Tel Aviv-based Israeli web development platform has been the Official Website Design & Hosting Partner for three of CFG’s clubs — Manchester City FC, Melbourne City FC and New York City FC — since February 2016.
Apart from branding rights, the deal also sees the two parties work on several co-branded campaigns, with Wix getting access to Man City’s roster of superstar personalities for promotional purposes.
The Hong Kong-based multi-level marketing company has been Man City’s Official Direct Selling Partner since 2014. The two last renewed their deal in August 2019 in a five-year agreement, which saw QNET continue to provide City-led soccer clinics to communities around the world and engage with consumers and distributors through various club channels.
City signed a multi-year deal with cryptocurrency-based fan engagement platform Socios.com, which is powered by Gzira, Malta-based blockchain fintech provider Chiliz, in March 2021 to launch their own Fan Token.
Via Socios.com, Man City offer their fans a chance to obtain Fan Tokens ($CITY) that allow them to participate in several club-oriented activities. These Fan Tokens are limited in number and can be bought, sold or won in an augmented reality in-game.
Man City signed a multi-year global sponsorship with Unliver-owned anti-perspirant brand Rexona in August 2018.
As per the deal, Unilever benefits from the partnership by getting to promote Sure (Rexona’s UK trade name) in the British market with City-themed packaging. Its products are also available for sale at the Etihad.
Unilever’s deal with Man City also extends to their American sister club New York City FC, which Unilever leverages to promote Degree (Rexona’s US trade name) in the US market with NYCFC-themed packaging.
The Abu Dhabi-headquartered real estate company was announced as Man City’s Official Real Estate Partner in January 2022.
The deal entails Aldar leveraging the club’s global audience base to promote select projects, with the two parties also collaborating on “development projects within the region in the realms of real estate, retail and football education”. Additionally, the two parties also collaborate over “exclusive events and campaigns”.
The Sydney-headquartered online trading company became Man City’s Official Online Trading Partner in September 2020 on a multi-year deal.
The deal is focused on creating brand awareness for Axi, previously known as “AxiTrader”, via branding across Man City assets, digital co-branded content on the club website, and offerings to fans in the form of exclusive experience opportunities.
Chinese liquor manufacturer JNC has been Man City’s official baijiu partner since May 2019. Apart from branding rights, the deal also sees the two collaborating over several consumer and marketing campaigns.
Xylem, a Rye Brook, New York-based American water tech provider, has been Man City’s official water technology partner since July 2018, a deal extended to the club’s women’s team and sister club New York City FC.
Through the partnership, Xylem aims to raise awareness about the global water challenges and work with the club to improve access to clean water in global communities.
CFG and Xylem renewed their partnership in May 2022, with another club of the former, Indian Super League club Mumbai CIty FC, being added to the agreement.
The London-based recruitment and human resources services provider has been the Official Recruitment Partner of Man City since 2013, a partnership the two renewed in April 2019 which also made Hays an official sponsor of the team’s overseas tours.
As per the deal, Hays works with the club to produce digital content for the club’s audiences globally. The current deal between the two parties is set to run until 2023.
The Minato, Tokyo-headquartered Japanese conglomerate was announced as the club’s official virtual fan engagement partner in November 2021. Via a proof of concept (PoC), the deal entails collaboration between the two parties to develop cutting-edge digital fan engagement solutions for the club.
As part of the deal, the two are to work on a global online community—a metaverse—project, which would contain a virtual recreation of the club’s Etihad Stadium where the fans could interact with the club and with each other. This project was officially unveiled in January 2023.
Gatorade has been Man City’s Official Sports Nutrition Partner since November 2017, a deal the two extended in March 2019 to include the club’s women’s team as well.
As per the deal, Gatorade gets in-ground branding at the Etihad as well as bespoke dugout branding for the women’s team’s Women’s Super League matches at Academy Stadium (part of the Etihad Campus that serves as home ground to Man City Women). Man City players and staff are also provided Gatorade products and “cutting-edge science” through the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI).
Masdar is owned by UAE state-owned holding company Mubadala Investment Company, whose chief executive and managing director is Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the CFG chairman, with his sister Razan Al Mubarak sitting on the Masdar board.
The Shenzhen-headquartered Chinese sports-oriented LED display solutions provider was announced as City’s Official LED Display Partner in January 2021.
Apart from branding rights, the deal sees Unilumin’s range of LEDs installed along the pitchside at the Etihad.
The partnership between the two parties was last renewed in September 2022.
Italian clothing brand Dsquared2 has been a part of Man City’s sponsorship portfolio since October 2016.
As per the deal, Dsquared2 is tasked with dressing the Man City players and staff for their Champions League outings, as well as producing club-themed merchandise.
The Schaffhausen-based Swiss cloud software company has been the Official Data Backup and Storage Partner of City since November 2018.
As per the deal, Acronis assists Man City in managing and safeguarding their data, as well as providing metrics ranging from player performances to business operations.
The two parties last renewed their partnership in August 2022.
Co-headquartered across Seattle, Washington, and Provo, Utah, in the US, experience management (XM) company Qualtrics was announced as the club’s Official Experience Management Software Partner in October 2021.
Apart from branding rights, the deal sees Man City employ Qualtrics’ XM software to listen to fan feedback so as to be able to enhance the experience for their fanbase both locally and globally. The deal also entails co-branded activations “across wider areas” of the club.
The Los Angeles, California-headquartered tech-based natural wellness solutions provider signed a deal with CFG to become the Official Recovery Partner of Manchester City, Melbourne City, Sichuan Jiuniu and Mumbai City in February 2021.
Apart from branding rights, the deal sees Therabody’s products made available across the aforementioned clubs’ training facilities to help the players with training optimisation, reducing injury risks and accelerated recovery.
The microtransactions-based streaming social media platform based out of Edinburgh, Scotland was announced as Man City’s official pay-per-view streaming platform in July 2022. Presented as a complementor to CIty+, Man City’s on-demand in-house subscription-based streaming service, Recast joined the club’s partnership portfolio to help them boost their digital footprint.
As per the agreement between the two parties, Man City have launched their own channel on the Recast platform, via which they offer match highlights and on-demand content to the Recast users on a non-subscription basis. The on-demand content ranges from behind-the-scenes featurettes to documentaries and covers the men’s and women’s teams of the club (both senior and across all youth levels) as well as their esports division.
Apart from branding rights, the deal entails WeWork providing Man City employees in the UK and Singapore with “inspiring and collaborative workspace, whenever they need it”, with employees around the world also provided “additional flexible space at WeWork locations across the world”.
As for NYCFC, their employees are provided WeWork All Access passes as part of the deal, allowing them to work from any WeWork location across the world.
The Italian women’s high-end fashion brand has been the Official Formalwear Partner of the Man City women’s team since January 2021, providing bespoke formalwear to the first-team players.
Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and owned by MGM Resorts International, LeoVegas is an online casino and sports betting services provider that signed on as Man City’s Official Betting Partner in Europe and Canada in September 2022.
The partnership, covering both the men’s and women’s teams of the club, entails co-branded content creation featuring Man City players. As part of the branding rights, LeoVegas features across the two Man City stadia, the Etihad Stadium and Academy Stadium, while also serving as the sleeve sponsor for the first-team training shirt of Man City’s senior men’s team.
In August 2020, Man City signed a multi-year deal with Mondel?z that saw its confectionary brand, Cadbury, become the club’s Official Snacking Partner in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, China, the US, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Brazil and the UAE.
The initial focus of the collaboration was on celebrating the people and organisations who contributed immensely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from this, Cadbury has also been offering exclusive fan opportunities to its customers in the aforementioned regions.
The Curaçao-based online gambling company was announced as Man City’s Official Betting Partner in Asia in July 2022. Apart from branding rights, the deal entails co-branded content creation, most prominently Man City players featuring in 8Xbet’s promotional content.
In November 2022, controversy emerged around the partnership after reports from Josimar and Daily Mail flagged up anomalies regarding the legitimacy of personnel associated with 8Xbet. The reports claimed that the LinkedIn profile of the company’s co-founder was found to have been using a stock image for the account’s profile photo. Another 8Xbet representative that featured alongside former footballer Teddy Sheringham in a promotional video announcing the Englishman as a brand ambassador of the company was later revealed as a UK-based model.
Neither Man City nor 8Xbet provided any official statements in response to the anomalies flagged up by the aforementioned reports, although, at the time of writing, 8Xbet remains listed on the official Man City website as one of their Regional Partners.
The Phnom Penh-based Cambodian brewery has been the club’s official beer partner in south-east Asia since October 2017. The brewery also serves as Man City’s official water, soft drinks and energy drink partner in Cambodia.
The Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona-based Spanish betting company was announced as Man City’s Official Betting Partner in Latin America in October 2022. Apart from branding rights, the deal entails creation of co-branded content for the Latin American market.
In October 2019, Man City and Nestlé signed a multi-year deal which saw the Vevey-based Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate become the Official Coffee, Vegan and Vegetarian Partner of the club — a first for an English topflight club.
The deal sees Nestlé provide matchday opportunities for its customers and Man City fans and also sees its plant-based products sold at the Etihad and the club’s academy stadia.
The Tokyo-based management consulting firm was announced as Man City’s Official Management Consulting Services Partner in Japan in August 2021.
The deal entails the two parties working together to increase Man City’s customer base across Japan and the southeast Pacific market.
UAE-based First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is the club’s Official Affinity Credit Card Bank Partner. As part of the deal, the bank has also launched first-ever Manchester City Credit Card in the UAE, which offers its customers several club-specific benefits.
Abu Dhabi-based hospital Healthpoint has been the club’s regional healthcare partner since November 2014.
As per the deal, the Man City medical staff hosts seminars on best training practices in sports medicine and offer internship opportunities to Healthpoint sports medicine professionals.
The two parties last signed an extension in August 2021. The deal currently runs until the end of the 2022-23 season.
The Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming brand signed a deal with CFG in December 2020 that made the company the Official NFT & Fan Tokens Partner of the Man City men’s and women’s teams as well as their sister club, Melbourne City.
The deal sees Animoca publish a series of digital assets, collectibles, mini-games and unique gaming experiences based on the two CFG clubs.
Based in Dubai, Noon.com is a digital marketplace dedicated to local businesses in the Middle East. The platform was announced as Man City’s Official Online Marketplace Partner in the Middle East in April 2021.
Apart from branding rights, the partnership is aimed at increasing Man City’s fan engagement in the Middle East.
The Mumbai-headquartered Indian sports travel and experiences packages provider was announced as Man City’s Official Football Hospitality Experiences Partner in India in November 2021. Apart from branding rights, the deal sees DreamSetGo offer India-based Cityzens bespoke packages for Man City games and soccer camps.
Ahead of the 2022 Major League Soccer season, Chicago-headquartered American men’s hygiene brand Dude Wipes was announced as a Regional Partner of Man City and the official matchday-shirt sleeve sponsor of their sister club, New York City FC.
Apart from its logo featuring on the NYCFC matchday shirts, Dude Wipes also runs promotions across the US to engage with the American City fanbase.
Football Manager (FM) is an annually released football management simulator. It’s a game jointly developed by SEGA (Shinagawa, Tokyo-headquartered Japanese video game developer and publisher) and Sports Interactive (London-headquartered British video game developer).
FM was announced as an Official Partner of Man City in September 2022. The deal sees Sports Interactive hold rights to feature Man City’s licensing, including real crest, kits and player images in its annual FM release.
Apart from branding rights, the deal entails giving the Indian MCFC fans access to the club’s content via Jio’s many digital offerings. This includes co-branded fan engagement activities as well as access to City+, Man City’s in-house OTT platform.
The UK-based artisan wine and spirits company signed a deal with Man City in December 2022, which made its premium champagne brand, Ballers Champagne, the Official Champagne Local Partner of the club.
The partnership entails production of Man City-themed Ballers Champagne bottles, with the champagne being poured across the premium hospitality areas across the Etihad Stadium, where Ballers Champagne also hosts its own Ballers Champagne Platinum Hospitality Box.
The Watford-based British wine retailer was announced as an Official Supplier of the club in January 2022.
Apart from branding rights, the deal sees Majestic Wine supply wine to the Etihad Stadium alongside other “key experiences on matchdays and beyond”.
ESP Fitness is a wholesale retailer of fitness equipment and is based in Loughborough, England.
Sportsworld is an English multi-sport corporate hospitality and bespoke travel packages provider. The company is based in London. As an Official Supplier of Man City, Sportsworld provides the club Official Match Break packages for their men’s team’s home fixtures as well as Official Travel Packages for their international UEFA Champions League (UCL) fixtures.
Sportsworld served as the Official Travel Package supplier for Man City’s first-ever UCL final in 2021. The two parties recently renewed their deal, which is now set to run until the end of the 2023-24 season.
The UK-based health spa company also serves as an Official Supplier to Man City.
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