Investing heavily in Premier League football matches
In the dynamic world of English football, cross-border payments companies are making a significant mark as they increasingly turn to sports sponsorships for marketing efforts. One of the latest examples comes from Ant International, who announced a sponsorship of Tottenham Hotspur in 2024. This partnership includes training wear sponsorship for Alipay+ across both the men's and women's teams.
This trend is not new, with many cross-border payments companies showing a recent focus on English Premier League football clubs. In fact, 65% of clubs in the league already have at least one sponsor in this space.
Sokin, for instance, signed a multi-year agreement with Manchester United in mid-August, while Standard Chartered has a long-running partnership with Liverpool, including shirt sponsorship, which they recently extended to 2027.
Similarly, Corpay extended a sponsorship deal with West Ham that it first inked in 2018. Other notable sponsorships include OFX with Burnley, Airwallex with Arsenal, and Ebury with Aston Villa, all announced in July.
These partnerships are not one-sided. They include brand activation opportunities and agreements for the clubs to use their sponsors' payments solutions, potentially offering significant benefits for the football clubs themselves.
Sky Sports recently announced four new whistle-to-whistle sponsorships for the 2025/26 Premier League season: Guinness, Coca-Cola, Uber Eats, and the British Army. These join returning sponsors bet365 and EA, with marketing activities including co-created content with Sky Sports talent and multi-platform visibility across broadcast, digital, and social media. However, there have been no widely reported new front-of-shirt sponsorship changes associated with these recent deals beyond the usual club partners for the 2025/26 season.
American Express is another company making a significant impact, with a sponsorship with Brighton and Hove Albion, including shirt sponsorship and naming rights to its stadium.
In the complex cross-border payments landscape of the Premier League, these sponsorships could prove to be highly valuable for all parties involved.
