2018-2019 Champions League kit sponsors and shirt sponsors
Like for previous seasons – e.g. 2017-2018 – and for the 2018-2019 Premier League, we have taken a look at the kit and shirt sponsors of the 32 teams participating in the UEFA Champions League (UCL). With world’s best players, great exposure and millions at stake, Europe’s biggest club competition will again be a spectacle to watch. But which brands, both technical suppliers and main sponsors, will get in on the action?
Related: 2019/2020 Champions League sponsors
Below we give an overview of the 2018-2019 Champions League kit sponsors and shirt sponsors and sum up the key takeaways from our research.
Breakdown of 2018-2019 Champions League kit sponsors per brand
Kit sponsors – key takeaways
- 10 different sports brands supply the 2018-2019 Champions League teams: Adidas, Capelli Sport, Kappa, Lotto, Macron, New Balance, Nike, Puma, Umbro and Under Armour
- 4 more brands are represented compared to the 2017-2018 UCL season
- PSG plays with Jordan (a Nike brand) branded kits in the Champions League
- Nike sponsors the most teams with 11 – followed by Adidas (8), Umbro (3), Macron, New Balance and Puma (all 2)
- Nike sponsors the most directly qualified teams with 10
| Team (country) | Kit sponsor | Buy from Amazon (Paid Link) |
|---|---|---|
| Club Brugge (BEL) | Macron | |
| Plzen (CZE) | Puma | |
| Liverpool (ENG) | New Balance | Home | Away | Third |
| Manchester City (ENG) | Nike | Home | Away | Third |
| Manchester United (ENG) | Adidas | Home | Away | Third |
| Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) | Nike | Home | Away | Third |
| Atlético Madrid (ESP) | Nike | Home | Away | Third |
| FC Barcelona (ESP) | Nike | Home | Away | Third |
| Real Madrid (ESP) | Adidas | Home | Away | Third |
| Valencia (ESP) | Adidas | |
| AS Monaco (FRA) | Nike | |
| Olympique Lyon (FRA) | Adidas | Home Ligue 1 | Away Ligue 1 |
| PSG (FRA) | Jordan Brand – Nike | UCL White | UCL Black |
| Bayern München (GER) | Adidas | UCL | Home | Away |
| Borussia Dortmund (GER) | Puma | UCL | Home | Away |
| Hoffenheim (GER) | Lotto | Home | Away | Third |
| Schalke 04 (GER) | Umbro | Home | Away | Third |
| AEK (GRE) | Capelli Sport | |
| AS Roma (ITA) | Nike | Home | Away | Third |
| Internazionale (ITA) | Nike | Home | Away | Third |
| Juventus (ITA) | Adidas | Home | Away | Third |
| SSC Napoli (ITA) | Kappa | UCL Home | UCL Away |
| Ajax (NED) | Adidas | Home | Away |
| PSV (NED) | Umbro | Home |
| Benfica (POR) | Adidas | Home | Away |
| FC Porto (POR) | New Balance | Home | Away |
| CSKA Moscow (RUS) | Umbro | |
| Lokomotiv Moscow (RUS) | Under Armour | |
| Crvena zvezda (SRB) | Macron | |
| Young Boys (SUI) | Nike | |
| Galatasaray (TUR) | Nike | Home | Away |
| Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) | Nike |
Shirt sponsors – key takeaways
- All 32 teams have a shirt sponsor – in previous seasons some clubs had none
- 29 different companies sponsor the 2018-2019 Champions League teams
- Emirates (3 – Real Madrid, PSG and Benfica) and Gazprom (2 – Schalke and Crvena zvezda) are the only brands sponsoring multiple teams
- As gambling advertisements are prohibited in some countries, Greek club AEK could have no or a different logo on their kits in some matches
It is interesting to see the kind of services and products these brands deliver to the market and to compare them with ‘regular’ leagues. For example if you look at the 2018-2019 Premier League shirt sponsors, 9 out of 20 shirt sponsors are gambling companies. In this year’s Champions League season only AEK has a gambling company as shirt sponsor.
So in which industries are the UCL teams’ sponsors active?
We can roughly categorise the companies into 17 different industries. The airline and energy industries sponsor the most teams with respectively 6 and 5 teams, followed by the automotive and telecommunications industries (both 3).
Breakdown of 2018-2019 Champions League shirt sponsors per industry
The airline and energy industries have the most shirt sponsors with respectively 6 and 5 teams.
Where do the shirt sponsors come from?
To see where the shirt sponsors come from we looked at where the companies have their headquarters. Key takeaways:
- Most of the shirt sponsors come from Europe (14), followed by countries that lie in both Europe and Asia, like Russia, and the Middle East (both 6)
- 3 Asian and 3 North American companies complete the shirt sponsors
- 15 teams have a shirt sponsor from their home nation
- Russia (5) and Germany (4) have the most shirt sponsors
- 5 of the 6 Middle Eastern shirt sponsors are active in the airline industry – Emirates (3), Qatar Airways (1) and Etihad Airways (1).
| Team (country) | Shirt sponsor | Industry shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| Club Brugge (BEL) | Daikin | Electrical equipment (electronics) |
| Plzen (CZE) | Doosan | Energy services |
| Liverpool (ENG) | Standard Chartered | Financial services |
| Manchester City (ENG) | Etihad Airways | Airline |
| Manchester United (ENG) | Chevrolet | Automotive |
| Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) | AIA | (Life) insurance |
| Atlético Madrid (ESP) | Plus500 | Online trading (financial services) |
| FC Barcelona (ESP) | Rakuten | Internet & e-commerce |
| Real Madrid (ESP) | Emirates | Airline |
| Valencia (ESP) | BLÜ | Mobile phones (electronics) |
| AS Monaco (FRA) | FEDCOM | Agriculture |
| Olympique Lyon (FRA) | Veolia | Environmental services |
| PSG (FRA) | Emirates | Airline |
| Bayern München (GER) | Deutsche Telekom | Telecommunications |
| Borussia Dortmund (GER) | Evonik | Specialty chemicals |
| Hoffenheim (GER) | SAP | Enterprise software |
| Schalke 04 (GER) | Gazprom | Oil and gas (energy) |
| AEK (GRE) | Pame Stoixima | Gambling |
| AS Roma (ITA) | Qatar Airways | Airline |
| Internazionale (ITA) | Pirelli | Automotive |
| Juventus (ITA) | Jeep | Automotive |
| SSC Napoli (ITA) | Lete | Beverage |
| Ajax (NED) | Ziggo | Telecommunications |
| PSV (NED) | Energiedirect.nl | Energy |
| Benfica (POR) | Emirates | Airline |
| FC Porto (POR) | Altice | Telecommunications |
| CSKA Moscow (RUS) | Rosseti | Energy |
| Lokomotiv Moscow (RUS) | Russian Railways | Rail transport |
| Crvena zvezda (SRB) | Gazprom | Oil and gas (energy) |
| Young Boys (SUI) | OBI | Home improvement |
| Galatasaray (TUR) | Turkish Airlines | Airline |
| Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) | SCM (CKM) | Various |
Compare with the 2017/18 Champions League kit and shirt sponsors or have a look at the sponsors of Premier League teams.
