Historic Return: Guinness Back on English Football Shirts After Four Decades
In a significant development for women's football and sports marketing, Guinness is making a historic return to the front of English football shirts for the first time since the 1980s. The iconic brand has signed a sponsorship deal with Bristol City Women, who compete in the Women's Super League 2, marking a major moment for the sport's commercial growth.
A Landmark Partnership for Women's Football
The West Country team, which is co-owned by Steve Lansdown of Hargreaves Lansdown and women's sport investment group Mercury13, will feature Guinness 0.0 branding on their shirts for the remainder of the current season. This represents the first front-of-shirt agreement for the Diageo-owned brand since their sponsorship of Queens Park Rangers' kit during the mid-1980s, ending a nearly forty-year absence from English football shirt sponsorship.
Lisa Knights of Bristol City Women expressed the club's enthusiasm about the partnership, stating: "Partnering with Guinness is an historic moment for our club and women's football. As an iconic and globally recognised brand, Guinness is our biggest front of shirt sponsor to date. To have them join us as our principal partner represents a huge vote of confidence in what we are building in our city, with our players, fans and the wider Bristol community."
Strategic Timing and Broader Context
This sponsorship agreement arrives during a season when the Women's Super League has been conducting trials allowing fans to consume alcohol during matches. The pilot scheme has been implemented across the top two tiers of women's football, with additional clubs participating as the season progresses.
Jamie Brooks, Guinness's sports sponsorship lead, elaborated on the strategic nature of the partnership, explaining: "Alongside Mercury13, this is more than a shirt sponsorship. It's about creating moments that bring people together and champion the growth of the women's game." The brand also maintains sponsorship of Irish side Bohemian FC's away shirts, demonstrating their ongoing commitment to football partnerships.
Investment and Growth in Women's Football
The deal follows Mercury13's acquisition of a majority stake in Bristol City Women in September last year, as part of their strategy to purchase women's football clubs in each of Europe's five major markets. This investment has positioned Bristol City Women alongside clubs like Como in their expanding portfolio.
Hannah Haynes, strategy officer at Mercury13, highlighted the broader implications of the sponsorship, noting: "This agreement marks the start of more big-name brands investing in women's football. Such partnerships will help maintain the momentum of the sport as one of the fastest growing in the world."
The return of Guinness to English football shirts represents not just a commercial agreement, but a symbolic moment for women's football, signaling increased recognition and investment from globally established brands in the rapidly developing women's game.
