For next season, Premier League clubs can no longer have gambling companies as their front-of-shirt sponsor. Aston Villa may have hinted at who could be on their shirt in a recent post on the club social media channels.
11 of the 20 clubs in the league have a betting company as their front-of-shirt sponsor. The reason for this is that they tend to offer more money than companies in other industries.
This summer, those 11 clubs will all be looking for a new sponsor, leaving the opportunity for lucrative deals to be made.
Villa’s current front-of-shirt sponsor is Greek betting company Betano, who signed a two-year-deal in 2024. The deal was worth £40 million across two seasons, which is the highest in the club’s history.
Their search has already begun with the Villans seemingly working with Klutch Sport Group to aid their hunt. Klutch is the agency representing NBA star Lebron James.
Potential hint?
On April 1st, Villa posted on X a throwback to when Ollie Watkins and John McGinn scored in a 2-0 win over Chelsea in 2023. The post featured Coca-Cola’s caption, “RefreshingMoments”, a handshake emoji and the company’s logo in the video.
Whilst Villa and Coca-Cola do have an official partnership as the club’s Soft Drinks Partner, this is the first time they have used them as a sponsor for a post. Usually, Xapo Bank, who are also an official partner, are included in Villa’s posts.
Through the 1990s, Coca-Cola was a widespread front-of-shirt sponsor for the majority of South and Central American clubs. The largest Brazilian clubs, such as Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama, and Cruzeiro had the American company as their sponsor.
In the last decade, they have considerably reduced their football shirt sponsorships; however, now they mainly operate as a partner to clubs to sell their products in stadiums.
A potential deal as Villa’s front-of-shirt sponsor would be massive for the Midlands club. It would be a huge statement for their global brand and showcase how much they have grown commercially.
Other companies Villa could use
As previously mentioned above, Xapo Bank has an official partnership with Villa. Given the consistent promotion of the Swiss Bank in the Villans’ post, they could be the most likely candidate to replace Betano.
To further this suggestion, in December last year, the bank had a mysterious reply on X to a supporter’s account. When asked who Villa should have as their new shirt sponsor, somebody replied with Xapo Bank, to which the company replied with the eyes emoji.
Another potential candidate is Cadbury. In 2024, Villa’s women’s team renewed its partnership with the company, which was founded in Birmingham.
A dual sponsorship with both the men’s and women’s teams would be a significant deal, and would also represent the local heritage between the club and company.
Whoever is made the new front-of-shirt sponsor will mark the next step in Villa’s journey of continued growth. After major increases to sponsorship and commercial revenue in the 2024/25 accounts, this next deal is likely to be far greater than their current £20 million a year one with Betano.
