Anshuman JoshiThis article contains information regarding the organisations enjoying a strong branding presence across the Wales men’s and/or women’s national football teams’ physical and digital assets as sponsors and partners of the Football Association of Wales.
Name of the football association: Football Association of Wales (FAW) (Welsh: Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru)
Also Read – FIFA Men’s World Cup Qatar 2022 Sponsors
BT
The London-headquartered British telecom holding company announced a five-year sponsorship deal with the FAW in October 2019. The sponsorship is an effort to promote and enhance the quality of football in the UK right from the grassroots level. BT also enjoys branding exposure as the front-of-shirt sponsor for the training kits of all of the FAW’s national teams.
EE
Owned by the BT Group, Hatfield-headquartered mobile network operator EE also serves as an official partner to the FAW.
JD
The Bury-headquartered sports retail company has served as an official partner to the FAW since 2015. The partnership sees JD hold exclusive selling rights for FAW-branded merchandise across its UK and online stores.
In July 2019, JD expanded on its existing deal with the FAW by becoming the title sponsor of the revamped Welsh football structure. The seven-year agreement sees the top three Welsh divisions thusly called (in order): JD Cymru Premier, JD Cymru North and JD Cymru South.
Marks & Spencer (M&S) Food
The London-headquartered British retailer joined hands with the FAW in May 2022 to launch the “Eat Well, Play Well” campaign. Featuring the Wales men’s and women’s national teams’ players and coaches, the campaign is focused on encouraging the Welsh 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 England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
MG
The British automaker signed a three-year deal with the FAW to become its official vehicle partner in May 2019. The partnership sees MG supply its fleet of cars to the Welsh national teams’ players and staff.
McDonald’s
The American fast-food giant has been an official partner of the FAW since 2002. As per the partnership, the two parties have and continue to work on several grassroots initiatives.
Adidas
The German sportswear giant has been the official kit supplier to FAW’s teams since 2013, when it replaced British brand Umbro. The FAW and Adidas last renewed their partnership in September 2016. Adidas also worked with the FAW back in the 80s as its official kit supplier (1980–1987).
Conotoxia
Multi-currency financial services provider Contoxia has been the Official Money Partner of the Wales men’s national football team since August 2018. As per the deal, Contoxia works with the Welsh national team on money transfers, payments, currency exchange and Forex. The Polish firm also holds image rights for the Welsh players to use in its promotional content. The deal currently runs until the end of the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar.
BOB Sports
The Asian betting company was announced as the official global partner of the FAW in May 2021 on a three-year deal that kicked off with UEFA EURO 2020.
Penderyn
The Welsh whisky distillery also serves as an official sponsor to the Wales men’s national football team. Apart from branding rights, the sponsorship grants Penderyn image rights for the Welsh players to use in its promotional content.
Brecon Brewing
The Brynmenyn-based Welsh brewery partnered with the FAW in June 2021 to launch official Wales national team-themed lager and cider products.
Macron
The Bologna-headquartered Italian sportswear and sports equipment brand signed a deal with the FAW in August 2020, making Macron the official domestic match ball sponsor for domestic club football in Wales starting with the 2020-21 season.
The partnerships entailed Macron supplying balls to the teams playing in the top three tiers of the Welsh men’s footballing pyramid as well as the teams playing in the Welsh Premier Women’s League (WPWL) and the WPWL Cup. These teams are further offered discounts on Macron equipment from the company’s Welsh stores located in Llanelli, Neath, Cardiff, Ebbw Vale and Wrexham.
The FAW and Macron renewed their partnership in April 2022. The current deal is set to run until the end of the 2023-24 season.
Hawes & Curtis
The London-based fashion brand was announced as the official tailor of the Wales men’s national football team in July 2019. The partnership sees Hawes & Curtis provide bespoke formalwear suits to the Welsh national team players.
Princes Gate
The Welsh mineral water brand has served as an official partner to the FAW for over a decade. The partnership sees Princes Gate’s products made available at FAW events and its national teams’ training sessions and matches.
In December 2021, Princes Gate collaborated with the FAW and the Welsh Rugby Union to launch the “Don’t Bottle It Up” campaign, which was aimed at encouraging people to open up about their mental health struggles.
Precision Training
The British sports training equipment manufacturer and distributor has served as the official training aid supplier to the FAW since November 2012. Apart from branding rights, the deal sees Precision supply its training equipment to the FAW’s national teams.
The National Lottery
The state-franchised national lottery of the UK enjoys a partnership status and branding across FAW assets since November 2020, when it reportedly injected over £12.5 million into a rescue package facilitated by the British government to save clubs all over Wales from the threat of insolvency brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February 2022, it was announced that Welsh football clubs from the top three divisions of men’s football in the country will take part in The National Lottery Football Weekends, via which National Lottery players could avail the opportunity to watch a game for free.
Science in Sport
The Nelson-based nutrition products manufacturer and supplier became the official nutrition supplier of the FAW in a two-year deal in August 2020.
As per the deal, apart from getting branding rights across FAW assets, Science in Sport supplies its products to the FAW’s national teams and works with the medical staff to enhance player performance by creating custom-made products for each player’s nutritional needs.
