Sponsorship and advertising

Sponsorship and advertising

Every professional team in world football will have multiple sponsors who will give them investment to have their company advertised by the club in different ways. There are also many forms of advertising available for companies in football whether it is in the stadium or on television.

One of the most valuable forms of sponsorship available in football is the shirt sponsor which shows the companies logo on the front of the teams shirt which gives their brand name a huge audience. The most valuable shirt sponsorship deal right now in football is Barcelona's partnership with Qatar Foundation which is worth £125m over 5 years. This logo will be printed on all replica shirts also which will spread the brands name even more around the world.

However these can be controversial as was evident when Newcastle striker Papisse Cisse refused to play in the clubs pre season games as the shirt contains the logo of 'Wonga' who are a payday loan company as it was conflicting with his Muslim beliefs. This shows that although sponsors can provide valuable investment for clubs, they can be an interference in a clubs progress.

Another way in which both sponsorship and advertising can influence football is that stadiums can be renamed to a brands name in return for large investment. The most notable examples are the Emirates stadium which belongs to Arsenal which is worth around £150m with shirt sponsorships also. Another example is the Etihad stadium which is the home of Manchester City which is worth around £400 million with shirt sponsorship.

However this can also be controversial as was evident when Newcastle's St James park was renamed the 'Sports direct arena'. This caused supporters to become angry as St James park had been the stadiums name for many years. Eventually the club changed the name back because of the controversy.