The hundred clubs in the five major leagues shared 15 brands this season. Of course, only four have a presence in all the first divisions: Nike, Adidas, Puma and Kappa. Among his pursuers, Macron did not have a club in 2021-2022 in the Premier League and Joma did not make it in Ligue-1. In addition, only five brands exceed ten agreements and up to seven had only one contract signed this season: Hummel, Zeus, Acerbis, Emporio Armani, Patrick, Under Armor and Uhlsport.
With two contracts there are three other brands (Jako, Le Coq Sportif and Castore). In other words, more than half of the companies have a maximum of two agreements as technical sponsors. It is an example of the tough competition to get a shirt in the football elite and, also, of the high investment that it entails.
Exception
Large multinationals have the economic capacity to absorb such contracts, while local firms find it difficult to diversify their investments. It happens to a greater extent in Serie A and Ligue-1. In Italy there were ten brands for twenty clubs, of which five originate from this country. Acerbis, Zeus and Emporio Armani, who kept the Napoli kit, dress one team each.
The exceptions are Kappa and Macron, who have made Serie A the only league where Nike and Adidas do not dominate the market. They are also the only Italians who are committed to internationalization and gaining presence in the rest of the competitions in a wide variety of sports. In France, where Patrick and Le Coq Sportif also appear, there has been no such international jump, although Decathlon, which has not yet seen any team, is already the official ball of the league, gives its name to the Lille stadium and continues to raise its bet in soocer.
The Bundesliga is a unique case in European football. Germany is the birthplace of Adidas and Puma, but it also has other local brands such as Uhlsport and Jako. The peculiarity is that only Puma has three agreements, and Nike has colonized the German market with six contracts, entering the house of its two main competitors. Of course, Adidas and Puma have the main franchises: Bayern and Borussia Dortmund, but the American wore the shirt of Eintracht Frankfurt, champion of the Uefa Europa League this year.
In the Premier League and LaLiga, the two spearheads of the Big-5, sponsorship is much more widely distributed. In both Nike and Adidas, four clubs are distributed per league, among which are the most valued: Barcelona, Atleticop de Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham for the Swoosh, and Real Madrid and Arsenal for the three bands, among others.
Changes
Another indicator of the strong interest that LaLiga and Premier arouse is the number of companies present: nine and ten, respectively. Most, in addition, international firms, and not local. In Spain, Joma stands out with three contracts, while Kelme, already in the hands of Chinese capital, only keeps Espanyol. The same happens in England, where Umbro and the newcomer Castore have had to make significant outlays to compete with retail giants and prevent Joma, Hummel, Kappa or Puma from gaining more ground.
Looking ahead to the next season there will be changes, especially in LaLiga. Nike will lose ground, Kappa leaves the map and Castore bursts in hand in hand with Almería and Sevilla. Adidas also continues to gain ground by snatching the Granada shirt from Nike and the Real Betis shirt from Kappa, and is still preparing more moves for 2022-2023. Joma, for its part, will maintain its usual long-term quota of equipment, being, together with Hummel, one of the veteran brands that most limits its investments linked to loyalty and profitability.
There will also be a change in the Premier: Macron will dress Cristla Palace, replacing Puma.
Source: Ambito
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