SPONSORSHIP / PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR
Aston Villa FC & Betano
Aston Villa’s partnership with Betano, announced in April 2024, marked a groundbreaking sponsorship agreement that aligned two ambitious, fast-growing brands. As Villa returned to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 40 years, Betano leveraged the club’s global resurgence to establish itself in the highly competitive UK sports betting market.
The sponsorship was seamlessly integrated across matchday branding, digital campaigns, and high-profile activations, ensuring maximum exposure and fan engagement. The kit launch video featuring the Betano logo garnered 12M views, ranking second only to Real Madrid among adidas launches. Villa’s pre-season Times Square takeover, alongside a high-impact stadium and digital presence, ensured Betano’s brand visibility on a global scale.
Key highlights included Betano’s integration into high-profile moments, such as Jhon Durán’s wonder goal and Villa’s victory over Bayern Munich (£1.8M media value, 4.7M engagements). Sponsorship awareness among Aston Villa fans rose to 75%, and brand affinity surged.
By combining commercial success with community impact, including donating front-of-shirt space to Acorns Children’s Hospice, this partnership set a new benchmark for Premier League sponsorships, reinforcing Aston Villa’s position as a leader in football’s evolving commercial landscape.
E.ON Next & Nottingham Forest FC
This pioneering alliance has set a new benchmark for holistic, purpose-driven sponsorships in sport. By integrating sustainability, fan engagement, and inclusivity across multiple teams in the Nottingham Forest family, E.ON/E.ON Next and Nottingham Forest have demonstrated a commitment to creating a partnership that truly empowers athletes and players, supporters, and the wider community.
Heart of Midlothian FC & Stellar Omada
With a new front of shirt sponsorship deal coming up, Heart of Midlothian teamed up with long-standing partners, Stellar Omada. It was a record breaking deal for the club financially, but is also brought shared benefits for the communities and people surrounding both businesses. Hundreds of people have taken their first steps into new careers, the club’s official charity has benefitted massively, and with both the Stellar Omada and Hearts teams working closely together, this innovative new partnership is only going to continue getting stronger.
Lewes FC x Who Gives a Crap
Lewes Football Club (Lewes FC), a trailblazing, community-owned football club known for its commitment to gender equality and social impact, partnered with Who Gives A Crap, an eco-friendly toilet paper company dedicated to improving global sanitation. This collaboration set a new benchmark for ethical sponsorships in football, moving beyond conventional branding to focus on shared values and meaningful impact.
In a landscape dominated by betting and high-consumption industries, this partnership sought to challenge norms by placing sustainability and social good at the heart of football sponsorship. The Who Gives A Crap logo was prominently featured on Lewes FC’s men’s and women’s kits, sparking conversations about sanitation through humor and bold visuals. The campaign generated over 1.2 million social media impressions in its first week, was featured in 50+ media outlets, and became the best-selling kit in Lewes FC history.
Beyond media success, half of the sponsorship value is being fundraised and donated to global sanitation projects. This initiative not only boosted brand engagement but also strengthened fan loyalty and established a model for values-driven partnerships in sport. Lewes FC and Who Gives A Crap are now working to expand this impact through future sustainability-focused initiatives.
Marriott Bonvoy x Manchester United
The Marriott Bonvoy x Manchester United partnership exemplifies innovation and mutual value, merging the world’s leading hospitality brand with one of football’s most iconic clubs. This collaboration redefined fan engagement through bespoke activations, including the Marriott Bonvoy Moments program, which hosted over 650 members across 326 exclusive matchday experiences.
By leveraging the rights and benefits of the partnership, the United. Near & Far” video series was developed, which highlighted fan journeys, rewarded deserving supporters and combined storytelling with social-first strategies. With 26M views and 142M impressions, it exemplifies both brands’ global reach and value in the partnership. Targeted digital campaigns in key regions drove Marriott Bonvoy enrolments and brand awareness, enhancing loyalty and expanding Marriott Bonvoy’s footprint globally.
This partnership delivered measurable outcomes: social content viewership increased by 261% (51 million total views), and 30 million Bonvoy points were redeemed, demonstrating the program’s appeal and emotional resonance with fans. Marriott Bonvoy and Marriott Hotels maximised Manchester United assets while elevating its brand visibility, reinforcing its position as a leader in experiential hospitality.
Through its creative and impactful approach, the Marriott Bonvoy x Manchester United partnership created meaningful connections with fans worldwide, showcasing the potential of strategic collaboration in football sponsorships.
Paris Saint-Germain & Qatar Airways
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Qatar Airways have been partners since 2020. The aim of the partnership is to amplify Qatar Airways’ brand to a global, lifestyle focused audience who wants to explore the world through travel and sport. Following a very promising first year of activations as Principal Partner (+40 activations and +1B social media impressions), the second year was awaited to continue engaging the Club and the company’s loyal fans and customers and reaching new heights.
Our 2nd year of partnership was driven around four main pillars:
– Create innovative activations to experience football like never before
– Build Qatar Airways brand into the lifestyle sphere
– Create synergies between Qatar Airways sport properties
– Promote and empower CSR initiatives
As a result, PSG and Qatar Airways have held +45 activations generating +1.4B social media impressions and +245M engagements. Not only have we created breakthrough activations, we have also leveraged our platform for good, supporting worldwide causes. We have opened the boundaries of football marketing by teaming up with other sports and industries.
This partnership has reached new heights making it one of the most engaging and exciting partnership in sports business.
Sela x Newcastle United
When Sela took over sponsorship of Newcastle United (NUFC), it was clear we had to do things differently. We wanted to rethink football sponsorship entirely, leveraging our world-leading specialism (live experiences) to produce unforgettable experiences for fans, honour the heritage they hold so dear, and amplify their sense of belonging, through activations that included the whole Tyneside community.
Through research into fan folklore, club heritage and local culture, a programme of people-centred activations followed, from the inspiring (3D extravaganzas), to the spectacular (city-wide drone shows), to the community-minded (outreach to struggling families), to genuine world-firsts (an accessibility initiative allowing Deaf fans to “hear” the stadium atmosphere for the first time).
One year in, the NUFC faithful are not just bought into our sponsorship – they are boasting about its impact to rival supporters! As one said, “We’re a different club now.”
The FA x M&S Food – Eat Well Play Well
M&S Food has been a partner of the four Home Nation football teams since 2022. The aim of the partnership is to use the power of football to inspire the UK to make healthier eating choices as part of its ‘Eat Well, Play Well’ campaign.
With partnership foundations set, 2024 has been all about continuing to increase partnership awareness, increase public ‘Health’ perception of M&S whilst driving consideration and sales of M&S Eat Well products.
Our approach laddered into a customer mindset around two key moments – January health and a summer moment for relevancy around EURO 2024, all supplemented by smaller campaign spikes playing out cross channel from online right through to in-store.
A Euros TVC, featuring Ian Wright and England Men’s Senior players inspired the nation to make healthier food choices ahead of the tournament. A Panini Sticker Album partnership generated excitement and ownability. The Perfect Match Roll drove brand love and further drove M&S healthy eating offering. Using players to balance education and entertainment helped us successfully launch a brand-new January health range.
All which helped M&S to achieve its highest ever brand awareness among family customers, brand love among football fans and increase in basket sales.
