Nearly two decades ago, it would have been unheard of to see any external branding on a football shirt other than the club name and logo. Now, companies are queuing to secure space on the kit of top Premier League teams.

Since the early 90’s, there have been a range of logos appearing on Premier League shirts. There was a period where financial services and consumer electronic goods were the top sponsors, and at some point it was alcohol companies who led the pack. Over the seasons we’ve seen the top league teams sporting shirts branded with airline logos, financial institutions, and more recently, online betting companies. These are clear indications of changing trends and one could even say evidence of which companies are most desperate for awareness. Nonetheless, football shirt sponsorship has become one of the most sought after advertising mediums simply because of its cost effectiveness and the vast global reach that the Premier League offers.

Shirt sponsorship is ideally about getting your brand exposed to as many people as possible – and the Premier League definitely offers that. With exposure comes association; this means that brands who advertise on top football shirts immediately become household names, just like the teams they sponsor. Sponsorship deals have become a very lucrative endorsement for clubs, with numbers climbing in excess of £280 million in the current season.

In the 2000’s, one would not expect to have seen a casino logo on any football shirt, as regulations had put a ban on such branding. In the last decade or so, however, betting companies now sponsor at least nine Premier League clubs. One such company is , betway.co.za, a leading sports betting facility which offers a wide selection of local and international sporting events with secure online betting options.

Betway is the primary sponsor for UK’s West Ham United and prominent African clubs like Ashanti Gold and Mathare FC. Their generous deals have gone beyond just shirt and playing kit sponsorship. Securing a sponsorship deal means bigger and better training facilities and more opportunities for exchange programmes and coaching opportunities across leagues.

The key idea behind Premier League shirt sponsorship is to create positive brand association between companies and the teams they sponsor. Betway has benefitted from this because more often, the same audiences who are watching Premier League matches are the same customers who will be betting on these teams. Shirt sponsorship still remains one of the most effective means of advertising and also offers clubs a hefty injection to achieve their expansion objectives.