Gambling companies account for five of ten least liked Premier League shirt sponsors. Getty Images Arsenal’s shirt sponsorship deal with Emirates is the most recognised in the Premier League among fans, according to a Europe-wide study by market research company Statista. The North London club’s partnership with the Dubai-based airline, which is reportedly worth UK£40 million (US$56 million) annually, generated 78 per cent awareness among the 3,000 fans who took part in the study. Southampton’s deal with telecommunications giant Virgin Media and Brighton & Hove Albion’s tie-up with financial services company American Express followed closely behind, with both partnerships being recognised by 75 per cent of fans. Overall, the report revealed that shirt sponsors in English soccer’s top flight have an average awareness of 34 per cent among fans. Six shirt sponsors were known by less than ten per cent of fans, with Huddersfield Town’s deal with betting website OPE Sports achieving only three per cent awareness among the group of quizzed supporters. Meanwhile, Arsenal’s Emirates sponsorship deal was also ranked as the ‘best fitting’ deal in the Premier League, with nine in ten of the club’s supporters approving of the pairing. In total, 80 per cent of Premier League fans expressed satisfaction with their club’s shirt sponsors, despite the growing condemnation of the prevalence of gambling companies, which account for almost half of the league’s shirt deals. Virgin Media (Southampton) took top spot as the most liked shirt sponsor with 28 per cent of the vote, followed by Emirates (Arsenal) with 23 per cent and American Express (Brighton) with 14 per cent. Of the ten least liked sponsors, five – ManBetX (Crystal Palace), M88 (Bournemouth), OPE Sports (Huddersfield), Sport Pesa (Everton) and Fun88 (Newcastle) – were gambling firms, with each scoring less than two per cent for likeability among supporters. “The perceived fit of a sponsor is closely related to how well the brand values of the sponsor reflect those of the club,” commented Alexander Kunst, a senior researcher at Statista. “When we look at the six shirt sponsors who have both high awareness with fans and are considered a good fit with the club, we see that they score well for the very same attributes the club has. “For instance, Manchester City fans told us they see both their club and shirt sponsor Etihad as ambitious, genuine and international. “It's clear that to create a successful partnership, it's important that both club and shirt sponsor consider how well their brand values match up.”
A study has found that Arsenal FC's shirt sponsorship deal with Emirates is the most widely recognised partnership among fans. The study, by Statista, found that 75% of respondents were aware of the deal between the two organisations, followed by Southampton FC's deal with Virgin Media and Brighton & Hove Albion’s partnership with American Express, both on 78%. Huddersfield Town’s deal with betting company OPE Sports had the lowest level of awareness at just 3%.