Barclays Premier League Breaks Shirt Sponsorship Record

The Barclays Premier League has set a new shirt sponsorship record in maintaining its position as Europe’s leading domestic league for shirt sponsorship investment, according to thelatest annual SPORT+MARKT European Football Jersey Report, produced in cooperation with partner company REPUCOM.

England‘s top division is edging close to EUR 150 million per annum in total income from this primary sponsorship platform. Continued growth for the leading clubs and new, improved deals for some less prominent sides were major factors in setting the new record, as was the increasing strength of the British pound against the Euro. The betting and lottery sector provides the most shirt partners for England’s top flight clubs with six separate shirt deals – one fewer than last season – currently in place. The combined value of shirt sponsorship income in Europe’s top leagues broke the EUR 500 million barrier for the first time, with a seven percent increase overall on last season. 

“Without doubt, the global reach of the Barclays Premier League is a major driving force. Clubs are increasingly looking beyond these shores for lucrative sponsorship deals and even companies for whom the UK is not a primary market are keen to associate themselves with Premier League teams and tap in to that exposure,” said Andrew Walsh, President of Global Enterprise at SPORT+MARKT. 

Walsh added: “This is almost a unique phenomenon and it’s not only benefitting the teams at the very top; Sunderland, for instance, is a good example.” The Stadium of Light club’s recent shirt deal with Invest In Africa is the biggest in the club’s history.

The report also shows that strong development has also been recorded in Spain’s Liga BBVA and Italy’s Serie A TIM. With revenues at a stable level elsewhere, shirt sponsorship – a first-tier communication tool in football – remains on a sound footing throughout the continent’s top leagues. Germany’s Bundesliga maintains its position as the second most lucrative league, reflecting the status of shirt sponsorship there as a crucial tool in the market, thanks largely to significant audiences of league highlights on domestic free-to-air TV. 

“The general health of shirt sponsorship is very encouraging for the game across Europe,” Walsh said. “This season we’ve seen record spending take place in Italy, England, Germany, and Spain which, considering the financial conditions across much of Europe, is really remarkable. Following a brief dip at the outset of the global financial crisis between 2007 and 2008, incomes have increased consistently and, with football’s global TV audience continuing to grow, we can expect this to continue.”

FC Barcelona‘s partnership with Qatar Foundation is currently the most lucrative shirt sponsorship in Europe‘s major leagues, with Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid and FC Bayern München making up the top five. Across the six leagues included in the report, the banking/financial services/insurance sector was both the most active source of sponsors and the biggest spender. However what was also notable was the growth in the number of automobile sponsors within the sector – Jeep‘s deal with Juventus and Hyundai‘s partnership with Olympique Lyonnais the most notable – which more than doubled on season 2011/12. That growth looks set to continue over the next 24 months with the impending arrival of GM as shirt sponsor of Manchester United in 2014.