As Wales’ only Premier League football team, Swansea City Football Club is a proud representative of the Welsh nation on a global sports stage and a real showcase of the entire country.
In our 106-year history, there have been many sporting moments that have made for great memories for the Jack Army, the biggest is probably reaching the Premier League (via the play-offs) in 2011 — the top tier of English football.
Although the 5-1 League Cup triumph over Bradford City in 2013 and subsequent Europa League adventure will also live long in the memory.
With every passing season, the financial and business side of the game becomes an increasingly crucial factor, much of the development of the club was made possible due to the team’s sponsors.
In fact, it is easily noticeable that the money in football keeps playing a bigger and bigger part. It reflects on transfer fees and contract wages, as well as on the marketing level, with all the advertising agreements and sponsorship deals.
The largest clubs have to pay exorbitant amounts for the best players, and they expect returns for their brands, too. The same can be said for even the Swans, who just a few years ago signed a record-breaking shirt sponsorship contract with GWFX, which is a leading brand of Chinese financial services called Goldenway.
The deal was worth £4 million for shirt sponsorship during the 2015/16 Premier League season. Since then, the sums and expectations are growing exponentially every year.
The club is no stranger to receiving support from gaming industry companies. Three out of the last four sponsors represented this line of business – 32Red, BetEast and Letou.
At this rate, they will next look to land some of the biggest online gaming providers in UK, such as https://uk.bingo.com/casino and similar sites. And if that means the Swans will become attractive enough for the biggest companies to invest in their brand, so be it as it can only help the club financially.
Larger deals result in more money and more recognition, drawing world-class players to the team and competing against the best. Every way to achieve more success is good, and this one seems particularly effective.
Over the years, the club has been in business with more than a dozen sponsors, as well as a similar number of kit manufacturers. In fact, the team have played in shirts made by Joma since 2016, having previously been with Adidas since their debut in the Premier League.
If you are a long time fan of the Swans and think you can recognize some of the historic Swans’ jerseys, you should try this Wales Online game quiz a go and see how many old shirts and sponsors you can recognise.