Football Shirt Sponsors of the 2021/2022 Champions League Season
From the infographic there is clearly a huge variety of sponsors within the Champions League with just 3 of the 32 teams sponsored by a betting or gambling firm. Another 4 clubs are sponsored by an online trading company which some see as a similar process to betting. For this season, numerous club such as, FC Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and RB Salzburg have all released exclusive Champions League shirts and for the first time ever in Champions League history we will see shirt sleeve sponsor feature, which means that the teams will have two sponsors in total. A sponsor on the front and one on the sleeve with a charity sponsor on the back. Up to now, the left sleeve sponsor has had the “respect” logo since 2008 when UEFA announced its social responsibility program. However, the move does come with some provisions. The sponsor on the sleeve must be used on a playing shirt in a domestic competition. If not, it must be from another playing attire sponsor or a non-playing kit I.e., a training kit. If this isn't possible then the club can replicate their front of the shirt sponsor or manufacture. This move by the UEFA governing body to include a sleeve sponsor this year is a way to help teams recoup financially after the difficulties of Covid-19. UEFA have forecasted that across all tiers of European football they will have lost €9 billion in revenue from the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons due to the pandemic.