A new research from the Sponsorship team at Ampere Analysis revealed how powerful the Premier League is at securing international partner brands. The research found that two-thirds of English Premier League (EPL) and EPL clubs' sponsorship deals are signed with multinationals headquartered outside of the UK, with nearly 90% of sponsorship income derived from these organizations.
The major European football leagues – as a broad rule - are all relatively successful at attracting international investment, but it is the EPL that signs the most sponsorship deals with global brands.
While many multinationals aim to drive brand awareness among UK consumers, the EPL outperforms other major competitions in its ability to attract sponsorship from global brands. This success is driven by the Premier League’s global fanbase. The sporting competition is the third most popular worldwide (behind only the major global events like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup) according to Ampere’s interviews with over 50,000 people in 31 global markets about their sports fandom.
Spain is the next most successful market at attracting international investment. Over half of La Liga club sponsorship deals, and 83% of sponsorship spend, is from groups headquartered outside Spain.
Of the largest European markets, Germany’s Bundesliga is the most domestically-centered football competition for sponsorship. Around 60% of the value and deals originate from local entities. This partly reflects Germany's larger domestic economy but also the lower relative appeal of the Bundesliga internationally.
The North American picture is different. The vast majority of the sponsors of U.S. teams and leagues are headquartered locally. This is due to the country’s powerful domestic economy, large domestic fanbases for the major leagues, and their proportionally smaller international following. Canada, despite having teams that participate in the major U.S. leagues, also sees a highly localized sponsorship market. 68% of sponsorship spend comes from local brands, indicating a latent opportunity for Canadian teams to drive additional investment from non-domestic brands.
Adam Lewis, Researcher at Ampere Analysis said: “The data highlights the strength of the English Premier League in attracting global sponsorship investment. The international reach and exposure given to brands by the EPL is currently the largest of all the major domestic competitions. This makes the League and its clubs attractive to partners looking to drive brand awareness, and also those who want to connect globally with fans in a meaningful way. In general, European football leagues are successful at attracting international revenues, driven by international player bases, and in particular by the larger clubs that participate in popular regional competitions such as the UEFA Champions League. The analysis also indicates opportunities for some clubs and leagues to grow revenue from international sources, such as in Germany and Canada, with the latter able to give brands access to US audiences via Canadian teams.”
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