European Football Leagues Score EUR13-Million in Shirt Sponsorship Deals

England, Italy and Germany are the countries with the most profitable football sponsorship and partnership deals.

As the most popular sport in Europe, soccer brings in a lot of cash for both professional leagues and their partners. In 2014, Europe’s top five football leagues have gained a total of EUR13.3 million from shirt sponsorship deals alone. Figures published in recent gambling news indicate that England has the most deals, 23, followed by Germany with 17 and Italy with 16.

It comes as no surprise that England is a top choice for sponsorship agreements, considering that sports and betting are highly popular in the country. Italian betting rules and German gambling laws are a bit hazy, but figures show these two countries have a lot of potential.

Top advertisers: online betting sites

A few years back, a lot more money was being spent on shirt sponsorship deals. But recently operators have adopted a more measured approach. In England, these agreements are valued at more than EUR9 million, while Italy’s Serie A is worth EUR1.5 million and France’s Ligue 1 just EUR750,000.

Retail, online and mobile betting operators remain the top sponsors and advertisers of European football clubs. According to the European Football Sponsorship Report 2014-15 put together by Sports Sponsorship Insider, 47 out of 67 agreements were signed with various online betting sites in Europe.