Chelsea and Coors, Spurs and Holsten, Liverpool and Carlsberg, Leeds and Strongbow. The more the merrier; quite literally.
These once-worn collaborations are now a collector’s dream. Vintage kits are now a keepsake for football enthusiasts, not only because of the style and the era, but also because we’re likely never to see alcohol sponsors make an iconic comeback. Although beer was never explicitly banned, it became outnumbered, pushed out, and replaced all in the space of a decade. Now, gambling dominates the landscape.
The relationship between Premier League clubs and their boozy sponsors was prime-time football culture. Shirt sponsors used to be iconic, and now, you barely know who they are.
Football and alcohol have always been interconnected, with sponsors reaching their height in the mid-90s. In the 1994-95 season, 30% of clubs had alcohol brands as their dominant sponsorship, but since then, the numbers have rapidly declined.
In 2017, the final alcohol sponsor was seen on a Premier League kit. Before being completely removed, many Everton fans moved from the Asian-owned beer brand Chang to a more local and acceptable sponsor. This backfired. The Merseyside Blues are now sponsored by Stake, an Australian-Curaçaoan online casino that can’t even accept players from the UK. After months of campaigning, they somehow ended up with something worse, nowhere near as classic.
In 2022, more than 20,000 people signed an online petition calling on Everton to drop Stake as their new sponsor. Eight years ago, in 2017, was the final year alcohol sponsorships were seen on Premier League kits. Clubs said no to Saturday nights at the pub, but chuck your little one in the slots, and we’ll look the other way.
It appeared that football wanted to enter a healthier era, steering clear of fans’ favourite pastime. There were concerns that children were becoming too exposed and comfortable being surrounded by alcohol. Fair enough. Over-exposure can be dangerous to children, but what eight-year-old is going to see Carlsberg instead of Standard Chartered and decide to start drinking? The consideration is there, but the reality doesn’t line up.
The new £52 million deal between Guinness and the Premier League is no shock. Beer sells. People often head to the pub to get a seat at the best table in town. It gets bought in the masses and thrown sky high at an equaliser in the 60th minute. Alcohol is still everywhere. In press boxes, VIP seating, the pubs, the bars, and your home fridge. It’s on shirt sleeves, adverts, and anywhere else you care to look.
With gambling sponsors definitely on the way out, should alcohol step back in and take its rightful place in the Premier League? For me, the combination of an iconic look mastered with a modern connection to the ‘classics’ should be reason enough. Nothing will ever be as iconic—the shirts, the sponsor, the feel—a classic Barclays era—a timeless look that everyone wants to wear. Beer is still promoted in the league, so put it back on the shirts. Do you agree?
