The Premier League and Barclays have announced an extension of their partnership that will see the bank remain as the official banking partner. The new deal has been signed for three years, which means it will run until the end of the 2024/25 season.
The renewal of the deal comes as both organisations celebrate 20 years of partnership, as the bank first partnered with the English top-flight under the Barclaycard brand in 2001.
Back in the day, the relationship between Barclays and Premier League was the most successful and robust in football’s history. It was the time when Premier League was known as Barclays Premier League as if its an actual one name. Since then, the relationship has grown to witness Barclays give the Premier League and many of its clubs monetary services such as corporate banking and foreign exchange.
The announcement was made along with the news of the extension of sponsorship for the women’s football with The Football Association (The FA) for a similar period from the beginning of the 2022/23 season until the end of the 2024/25 season.
Barclays has also announced that they will invest more than £30 million in women and girls’ football between 2022-2025, which is double of current investment.
The Barclays Women’s Super League is going to commence in 2022 and the main aim of both brands is to develop the second division of women’s football in the country which can further bring more investments in women’s football.
The bank will also look to increase and give girls equal access to football in schools with its investment in girls’ grassroots programme as it has also extended its sponsorship of The FA Girls’ Football School Partnerships (FAGFSP). Since Barclays became a sponsor of the FAGFSP in 2019, over 9,700 new schools have joined, bringing the total to over 12,000 schools.
Will Brass, Premier League Chief Commercial Officer, said, “Barclays has always been a fantastic partner of the Premier League, and we are very pleased to be extending our long-standing association for another three years.
“Over two decades Barclays has demonstrated their support for football, both on and off the pitch. And together we share an ambition of creating opportunities at all levels and ensuring everyone is welcome to enjoy the game. We look forward to further developing our relationship over the coming years.”
Sasha Wiggins, Group Head of Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility, Barclays said, “We are delighted to announce the agreements with The FA and Premier League at a time when we are celebrating our long-term commitment to English football. Collectively we have been through extraordinarily difficult times over the last 18 months and over that time football has done much to help raise spirits and bring people together.
“Yet we are also aware that this is an important time to drive equity across the game. The doubling of our investment in women’s and girls’ football, whilst continuing to support men’s football, and providing finance to the smallest football organisations through the new community fund, is the right way to support the future of the game for everyone’s benefit.”
Kelly Simmons, The FA’s Director of Women’s Professional Game, said, “Barclays has played a crucial role in the growth of women’s and girls’ football, so it is excellent news that they are committing to a new record investment in the women’s and girls’ pyramid until 2025.
“As part of The FA’s 2020-2024 Women’s and Girls’ strategy, Inspiring Positive Change, we set ourselves the ambition of providing equal access for all girls at 90% of primary and secondary schools in the UK, and Barclays continued support and investment have allowed us to make great strides in achieving this ambition.
“From grassroots to the top tiers of women’s football, we are also extremely excited to welcome Barclays as the new title sponsor of the FA Women’s Championship. The FA Women’s Championship plays a pivotal role in the ongoing development of the pyramid structure and the credible history and association to football that Barclays has will make the league even stronger.”
The deal was signed in the presence of Premier League, The FA and Barclay’s representatives along with Barclay’s football ambassador Kelly Smith at Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub in West London.