Sponsors in the 2015/16 Champions League: Part 2 Shirt Sponsors
The first match day of the UEFA Champions League will take place this week. 32 teams from 17 different countries will battle for the ultimate European team prize. In the first part of Sponsors in the 2015-16 Champions League we took a look at the kit suppliers of the elite teams. Adidas will be the best-presented clothing brand on the pitch during the Champions League group stage. In this part, we take a look at the shirt sponsors.
Companies sponsor teams with a broad or specific audience in order to increase awareness for their products. Sponsoring Champions League teams definitely supplies a broad audience. It is therefore no surprise that companies, from many different industries, are willing to pay extra to be on the kits of Europe’s elite teams.
Shirt sponsors of Europe’s elite 32
Although there is big money to be made with shirt sponsors, there are five teams – Dynamo Kyiv, Sevilla, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Porto and AS Roma – with no company logo on their Champions League jerseys. Three teams – Chelsea, Barcelona and Olympique Lyon – have two sponsors on their jerseys. A company on the front and a charity on the back. Valencia is the sole club with only a sponsor on the back of their jerseys.
The sponsors are from a diverse range of industries and some have been sponsoring the teams for decades (Phillips sponsors PSV since 1982). Chelsea, Atlético Madrid, Gent, Valencia, and Olympique Lyon (latter two just for the Champions League) are some of the clubs with a new shirt sponsor since the start of the 2015/16 season.
| Club | Shirt Sponsor / Logo | Industry |
|---|---|---|
| KAA Gent (BEL) | Play Sports – Telenet | Telecommunications |
| BATE Borisov (BLR) | Belgosstrakh | Insurance company – Financial |
| Dynamo Zagreb (CRO) | Zagreb Croatia | Tourism |
| Arsenal (ENG) | Fly Emirates | Airline |
| Chelsea (ENG) | Yokohama Tyres (front) & Plan International (back) | Tyres – Manufacturing & Charity |
| Manchester City (ENG) | Etihad Airways | Airline |
| Manchester United (ENG) | Chevrolet | Automobile |
| Atlético Madrid (ESP) | Plus500 | Online trading – Financial |
| Barcelona (ESP) | Qatar Airways (front) & Unicef (back) | Airline & Charity |
| Real Madrid (ESP) | Fly Emirates | Airline |
| Sevilla (ESP) | – | – |
| Valencia (ESP) | UN Women (back) | Charity |
| Olympique Lyon (FRA) | Veolia (front) & OL Foundation (back) | Environmental Services & Charity |
| Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | Fly Emirates | Airline |
| Bayer Leverkusen (GER) | LG | Electronics |
| Bayern München (GER) | T-Mobile | Telecommunications |
| Borussia M. (GER) | Postbank | Bank – Financial |
| Wolfsburg (GER) | Volkswagen | Automobile |
| Olympiacos (GRE) | Unicef | Charity |
| Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR) | – | – |
| AS Roma (ITA) | – | – |
| Juventus (ITA) | Jeep | Automobile |
| Astana (KAZ) | Samruk Kazyna | Joint Stock company – Financial |
| PSV Eindhoven (NED) | Phillips | Electronics |
| Benfica (POR) | Fly Emirates | Airline |
| Porto (POR) | – | – |
| CSKA Moskva (RUS) | Rosseti | Electricity |
| Zenit (RUS) | Gazprom | Oil and Gas |
| Malmö (SWE) | Rörläggaren | Plumbing |
| Galatasaray (TUR) | Turkish Airlines | Airline |
| Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) | – | – |
| Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) | SCM | Holding company – Financial |
The industries of the shirt sponsors
Companies active in the airline industry are common sponsorship partners for Europe’s elite. Seven out of 32 teams have the name of an airline company on the front of their jerseys. Emirates is the most active airline sponsor with the sponsorship of four teams from four different countries. Their slogan ‘Fly Emirates’ is visible on the jerseys of Arsenal, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica.
In the Arsenal deal, Emirates also paid for the stadium naming rights. Manchester City has a similar sponsorship agreement with Etihad Airways.
In addition to the airline industry, there are many financial related corporations sponsoring Europe’s elite teams. Including Atlético Madrid’s new sponsor Plus500, five out of 32 teams have a sponsor logo from the finance sector.
Five clubs have a ‘charitable’ logo on their jerseys, including Valencia (on the back). Valencia struck a four-year partnership with UN Women earlier this year. The goal of the partnership is ‘to bring boys and men into the gender equality conversation’.
