Premier League Shirt Sponsors: The Present And Future
Few can argue that the English Premier League is currently the most popular sports league in the world. The EPLs presence spans across every part of the globe – Africa, Asia, The Americas and Europe. Wherever you are in the world - barring perhaps the North Pole and Antarctica – it is not surprising to come across a child wearing a Chelsea or Manchester United shirt such is the global appeal of the English Premier League. Since the Premier League has a worldwide appeal, there are lots of money making opportunities for players outside of the soccer world.
Following the Premier League boom in the early 2000s, the broadcast rights to the Premier League were sold all over the world. A variety of different companies from drink sellers and insurance companies to car companies and online casino sites flocked to Premier League clubs in order to sponsor them and have their names and logos appear on the front of their jerseys. To have your company appear on the front of an English soccer club meant that your brand became global and trustworthy.
Soccer clubs and their shirt sponsors
The 2017/18 Premier League season saw half of all Premier League clubs with a gambling company as their main sponsor. The other half was made up of a variety of sponsors. Interestingly, none of the top six Premier League clubs – Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal – had a gambling company as their main shirt sponsor.
More often than not, Premier League clubs will opt for the potential shirt sponsor who offers them the most money. Soccer clubs are as much about financial profit as they are about success on the pitch. It is for this reason why there has been some morally questionable shirt sponsors, gambling websites, for example.
On the other hand, the Premier League gambling market is worth billions of dollars. Soccer betting companies have helped make the Premier League the global success story that it is today. These companies have pumped hundreds of millions into soccer through sponsorship – thus enriching the world of soccer. It is no coincidence that Premier League soccer wages continue to increase – it is one of the richest industries in the world.
Prior to gambling companies, the main shirt sponsors of Premier League soccer clubs were alcohol companies. The 90s witnessed alcohol companies such as Carlsberg decorate the shirts of the most successful clubs.
Much to gain
As aforementioned, sponsors have much to gain from being sponsors of soccer clubs. Premier League soccer clubs are trusted worldwide brands. Manchester United, Chelsea etc – if they promote a product then people will buy that product and trust the company who produce it.
In 2016, each Premier League match was watched live by an average of 12 million people worldwide whilst 95% of TV advertisements during live UK soccer matches contain at least one gambling advert. Live soccer matches are gold mines to gambling companies thanks to live match betting.
Of course, the UK is not the only country whose soccer league is watched by a global audience of hundreds of millions. Spain, France, Italy, Germany all have massively popular soccer leagues with followers from all around the world – so it is not only the English Premier League which attracts massive amounts of sponsorship money.
The Future
The future is hard to predict. Certainly sponsorships will always be a part of soccer as they are a part of every sport in the world. Whether or not gambling sponsors will continue to be linked with soccer is a different matter. Sport in China, for example does not allow gambling sponsors of any kind. Certainly, it is usually up to the government of each nation to decide on which sponsors should be allowed to advertise themselves on the front of soccer jerseys.
For now, gambling websites will continue to be a massive part of European soccer. Fans love to bet on soccer and soccer clubs love receiving sponsorship money from betting companies. It is likely that, several years down the line, the public will realize how detrimental sports betting is to people’s lives and this might change things. For now, however, it is a marriage made in heaven.