The 2024/2025 Champions League started with 36 clubs in the initial phase in a round-robin format, while sponsorships by betting companies are growing rapidly in European football. Currently, 33% of the teams have companies from the betting sector as master sponsors, evidencing the impact of this industry on the sport.
Of the 36 clubs, 11 have a betting house in the central space of their shirts - Aston Villa, Young Boys, Celtic, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, Inter Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sparta Prague, Sporting, Stuttgart and Slovan Bratislava. This is the highest number since the 2022/2023 season, when eight teams (25%) had Bets as their main sponsor.
In 2023, a survey by UEFA showed that 22% of European clubs received investments from betting companies, which includes casinos and sports betting sites. It is the industry that invests the most in football today.
Compared to last season, the increase in the number of sponsors was 57%. In 2023/2024, seven teams were sponsored by betting houses. Compared to 2018/2019, the lowest rate before the growth observed in recent years, only three teams had brands of this type on their uniforms.
In six years, the number of sponsors has increased by 366%. In addition to clubs, brands have also started to have an influence on the competition. For this season, bet365 has signed a three-year deal with UEFA to sponsor the Champions League. It is the first bookmaker to directly invest in and sponsor the competition.
“We look forward to a successful partnership that not only enhances the experience for our fans, but also supports efforts to protect the integrity of the sport,” said Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA’s Marketing Director, regarding the partnership.
After bookmakers, airlines are the second industry that has invested most in European clubs in this edition of the Champions League. Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City are some of the eight clubs that have the aviation industry at the center of their kits.
The last season without a bookmaker as a main sponsor was 2014/2015. Twenty years earlier, in 1994/1995, the competition had its first team sponsored by a betting brand. At the time, SV Casino Salzburg - now called Red Bull Salzburg - had the Casino Salzburg brand on its name and shirt.
Source: UOL
