Rahul Naresh
Anshuman JoshiThis article contains information about the Premier League clubs’ front-of-training-wear sponsors for the 2023/24 season.
AFC Bournemouth | Dun & Bradstreet
The Jacksonville, Florida-based business analytics solutions provider was confirmed as the club’s official training wear partner in August 2023 in a deal covering the 2023–24 season.
The deal sees the Dun & Bradstreet logo feature on the front of the training wear (“including staff attire and matchday warm-up tops”) of the AFCB senior men’s team.
Arsenal FC | Emirates
Arsenal FC first struck a deal with UAE flag carrier Emirates back in 2006. Twelve years later, in February 2018, the two extended their partnership to at least another five years in a deal expected to be in excess of £200 million.
The two parties again renewed their partnership in August 2023. The current deal is set to run until 2028.
Emirates has also held naming rights for the Arsenal men’s team’s home ground ever since it was opened in July 2006.
Brentford FC | Hollywoodbets
The South African betting firm first signed a two-year deal with the Bees as their Official Betting Partner in November 2020 in an attempt to expand into the British market. The deal granted Hollywoodbets back-of-shirt branding rights on the club’s matchday kits, right below the kit number.
In July 2021, Brentford FC extended this partnership in a new two-year agreement to make Hollywoodbets their Official Principal Partner, granting the betting firm front-of-shirt sponsorship rights for their men’s first-team and B-team matchday kits as well as all adult replica shirts.
In January 2022, it was reported that Hollywoodbets had expanded its partnership with Brentford FC to also become the front-of-shirt sponsor for their training and pre-game apparel as well as the technical staff uniforms.
Brighton and Hove Albion FC | American Express
New York-headquartered American multinational financial services corporation American Express (or Amex) has been the biggest and long-standing partner of Brighton & Hove Albion FC (for over a decade). The two first came together in 2010 with a naming rights deal for the club’s stadium (and so, “Falmer Stadium” is known as the “American Express Stadium”, commonly referred to as “the Amex”), which was expanded with a kit sponsorship agreement in 2013 in a deal reportedly worth £1.5 million per season.
The two parties further extended their partnership in August 2019 with a 12-year extension in an enhanced deal reportedly worth north of £100 million.
Amex has been a veritable contributor to the Brighton community. It has its UK headquarters located in Brighton and is one of the largest private sector employers in the region. The BHAFC deal strengthens its association with the city and grants the company naming rights across the club’s women’s and disability squads in a bid to encourage diversity and inclusion within the community.
Burnley FC | BK8
Asian betting operator BK8 first partnered with Burnley FC in August 2022, becoming the Official Training Wear partner of their men’s and women’s teams, whose training wear thus featured the BK8 logo on the front. This deal also entailed BK8 supporting the charity initiatives of Burnley FC in the Community.
In July 2023, the two parties extended their partnership to also cover the 2023–24 season.
Crystal Palace FC | cinch
The Farnham, Surrey-based British online car retailer was announced as the front-of-shirt sponsor for CPFC’s matchday and training shirts in May 2022, with the multi-year deal kicking off with the start of the 2022–23 season.
The cinch agreement covers both the senior and youth setups (both men’s and women’s) of the club.
Everton FC | Stake
The Curaçao-headquartered online crypto casino and sports betting platform was announced as Everton FC’s principal front-of-matchday-shirt sponsor with the start of the 2022-23 season in June 2022, as part of a “club-record main partner agreement” that marked the most expensive shirt-sponsorship deal in Everton FC’s history.
Liverpool FC | AXA
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.
Luton Town FC | TUI UK
German travel company TUI’s British division was confirmed as LTFC’s training apparel sponsor in July 2023 in a deal covering the club’s men’s, women’s and youth teams.
The deal puts the TUI logo on the front of the LTFC regular and pre-game warm-up training wear.
Manchester City FC | Asahi Super Dry
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 City Football Group (CFG) — the holding company owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group that looks after the football administration of MCFC and their sister clubs around the world — teams: 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 since 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.
In July 2023, Asahi’s non-alcoholic offering, the Asahi Super Dry 0.0%, was announced as the official front-of-training-shirt sponsor of the Man City men’s and women’s first teams for the 2023–24 season.
In January 2024, Man City players were seen wearing pre-game and training apparel which, while featuring the “Asahi 0.0” branding, did not have the words “Super Dry” on them that were previously part of the branding agreement. It was later revealed that UK-based clothing brand Superdry had made a High Court trademark infringement claim against the club’s usage of the “Super Dry” branding and were seeking financial reparations for the same. (This is an ongoing matter.)
Manchester United FC | Tezos
The global open-source blockchain was announced as MUFC’s Official Blockchain and Training Kit Partner in February 2022 in a deal reported by The Athletic to be worth in excess of £20 million per season.
The partnership is aimed at introducing the Web3 technology to the global MUFC fanbase, with the Tezos logo featuring on the players’ training shirt as well as on the coaching staff’s uniform. The partnership also entails co-branded fan experiences, with Tezos having also pledged “to support [the] Manchester United Foundation with ongoing donations in tez, the native currency of the Tezos blockchain”. The Manchester United Foundation is the club’s official charity arm.
Nottingham Forest FC | E.ON
E.ON is a German electric utility company headquartered in Essen. As an official partner of Forest, E.ON helps the club achieve and maintain their sustainability goals. The partnership also entails collaboration over co-branded content featuring Forest players.
Forest renewed and expanded their partnership with E.ON in July 2023, making it their Official Training Wear Partner as well apart from continuing on as their Official Sustainability Partner.
The renewed agreement entails “formation of a new ‘Sustainability Council’ to help the club enhance its approach to sustainability, which could include such things as exploring options for generating renewable energy at The City Ground [home of the Forest senior men’s team] and installing smarter, energy efficient technologies at the Academy”, with E.ON also serving as the front-of-training-shirt sponsor for the club’s senior men’s and women’s teams.
Sheffield United FC | Yelo
Al Yasmeen, Riyadh-based Saudi Arabian car rental company Yelo was announced as the Official Car Rental Partner of the club in October 2020 on an initial three-year deal.
Formerly known as Al Wefaq Rent a Car, Yelo was a Sheffield United FC sponsor in its previous guise as well — during the 2019–20 season.
The deal sees the Yelo logo feature across the first-team players’ and management’s “training wear, travel wear and bench wear” kits.
Tottenham Hotspur FC | Getir
The Istanbul-headquartered Turkish online delivery service was announced as an Official Global Partner of the club in August 2021 on a three-year deal.
Launched in the UK in January 2021, for Getir, the Spurs deal marked the first British sporting partnership.
West Ham United FC | Betway
The global online bookmaker has been West Ham’s Principal Partner since February 2015. The deal, initially reportedly worth around £20 million over the first three years, was extended first in 2016, then for a further six years in May 2019, with the annual revenue bumped up by £10 million.
Betway’s association with West Ham over the last decade has been a fruitful one, with the former partaking in a lot of fan engagement initiatives — the Betway Academy, Betway Fan Taxi and West Ham Supermarket Sweep, to name a few. However, all’s not rosy for the two parties, as in 2020 Betway was handed a record £11.6m fine for a series of social responsibility and money laundering failings.
