Overview of the 2020/2021 Premier League sponsors

Who wears what in the English Premier League? Which apparel brands are dominating on the Premier League pitches? Are most shirt and sleeve sponsors gambling companies?

Below we answer those questions and more by giving you an overview of the sponsors – kit, shirt and sleeve sponsors – of the 2020/2021 Premier League clubs. We also take a look at the league’s official partners.

Kit sponsors: 20 clubs, 7 brands

The 20 Premier League teams are sponsored by seven different clothing brands. We will see Adidas, Nike, Puma, Umbro, Hummel, Kappa and Under Armour on the Premier League pitches this season. In 2019/2020 there were eight different brands sponsoring Premier League kits, while there were six in 2018/2019, eight in 2017/2018 and ten in 2016/2017.

Adidas is once again the main kit supplier with seven teams. Arsenal, Leicester City, Manchester United, Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers will continue wearing the German brand. Promoted sides Fulham and Leeds United are added. Watford was relegated while wearing Adidas last year.

Nike and Puma follow Adidas by each sponsoring four teams. Nike already sponsored Chelsea, Tottenham and Brighton, but were able to bring in 2019/2020 champions Liverpool. A great catch, resulting in them now sponsoring three of the ‘traditional’ and last season’s top six.

With the promotion of West Brom, Puma now sponsors an extra team compared to last season. They already supplied Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and 2019/2020 runner up Manchester City. Before the 2019/2020 season the German manufacturer was able to secure a multi-year partnership with Manchester City – and several other clubs belonging to the City Football Group.

Umbro saw their Premier League portfolio halved for the 2020/2021 season. West Ham and Burnley continue to wear the English brand, but they lost Everton and Bournemouth. The blue Merseyside team switched to Danish brand Hummel, while Bournemouth was relegated to the Championship.

Under Armour, Kappa and ‘newbie’ Hummel complete the list by each sponsoring one team. This means New Balance and Erreà no longer sponsor any Premier League side.

Three teams have switched brands for the upcoming season, including Liverpool from New Balance to Nike, Everton from Umbro to Hummel and promoted side Leeds United from Kappa to Adidas.

2020/21 Premier League Kit Sponsors

2020/21 Premier League Shirt Sponsors

Once again, gambling companies remain a favourite partner for clubs when it comes to shirt sponsorships. Eight out of 20 Premier League clubs will feature a gambling company on the front of their shirts this season. That is two less than last year and similar to the 2018/2019 (9) and 2017/2018 (8) seasons. Two of the three clubs that won promotion have a gambling shirt sponsor. Crystal Palace, Fulham and Leeds United all three switched from one gambling (gaming) sponsor to another. 

It is notable that none of the traditional top six has a betting or gambling logo on their shirtfronts (or sleeve). Gambling companies are likely willing to pay more than most non-gambling companies to partner ‘smaller’ clubs, while ‘big’ clubs have more options to choose from.

Even if they do not have a gambling shirt sponsor, all clubs partner with gambling companies. Some of them even have deals with multiple firms.

Besides the gambling partners, four shirt sponsors are active in the financial services industry. While the rest of the shirt sponsors could be categorised as being active in the airline, online car retailer (both 2), telecommunications, automotive, tourism (duty-free shop) and heating (all 1) sector.

Both Aston Villa and Everton have partnered with online car retailer Cazoo for the 2020/2021 season, after having gambling sponsors on their shirt in previous years. The young e-commerce business is the only company sponsoring two Premier League sides.

Leicester City and main partner King Power have teamed up with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to promote the country and its tourism sector after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The companies come from around the world, with a majority having their headquarters in the UK (Europe) and Asia.

2020/21 Premier League Sleeve Sponsors

Since the 2017/18 season Premier League clubs are allowed to have sleeve sponsorships. Despite this opportunity, not all teams have a sleeve sponsor. So far 17 teams don a logo on their sleeves. With Liverpool being the latest by striking a deal with Expedia, after Western Union cut their five-year deal short after three seasons.

The companies entering sleeve sponsorships are diverse. Like in previous seasons multiple companies are active in the financial services and gambling industry (both 3). Companies from the automotive and tourism industries (both 2) are also favourites as sleeve sponsor.

Some teams are currently looking for a new sleeve sponsor after previous deals (suddenly) ended. For example, Everton is in talks with new companies after talks with Rovio Entertainment about their Angry Birds deal broke down.

Others, like Tottenham Hotspur, will probably remain without a sleeve sponsor for now. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy explained during a board meeting at the end of 2018 that ‘any sleeve sponsorship may compromise the value of the naming rights deal [for their new stadium], so the naming rights would come first.’

Burnley (LoveBet) and Sheffield United (USG) are the only two clubs that have the same shirt and sleeve sponsor. 

Note: The table below will be updated when sleeve sponsors are official. For 2019/2020 sleeve sponsors click here.

2020/2021 Premier League sponsors

The Premier League lists eight official partners on their website. This does not include their various international and UK broadcast partners. The sponsors/partners have a clear ‘role’. For example Barclays in the official bank and Nike the official ball. Partners receive exclusivity within their niche. Noticeable is that the Premier League does not list any regional partners (excluding broadcast partners). Several of the other Big 5 leagues do.

The Premier League has the same amount of sponsors as last season. However, Hublot has replaced TAG Heuer as official timekeeper. In addition, instead of Cadbury as official snack, Budweiser is now the official beer of the league.

The Premier League 2020/2021 starts on September 12th.