Do football fans actually like shirt sponsors?

Chelsea's time in the sponsorless wilderness is at an end, with the club reportedly agreeing a £40 million-a-year deal with the sports data company Infinite Athlete for front-of-shirt sponsorship. But a new YouGov survey of 1,000 Premier League fans suggests a lot of fans would prefer it if they hadn’t bothered.

When asked, just one in nine (11%) say they prefer a shirt with a sponsor on the front – while two in five (42%) say they prefer a shirt without a sponsor. Some 44%, however, express no preference either way.

Since we were on the subject, we took the opportunity to ask fans how they feel about football shirts in general.  Overall, two in five (38%) believe they are of generally good quality, with a third (31%) saying they are poor quality. A fifth (18%) say they are neither good nor poor. But in terms of value for money, one in ten (10%) say they represent good value for money, and 71% think they are poor value.

Perhaps owing to the perception of replica kits as a ripoff, it’s a minority of fans who say they have bought a shirt for the 2023/2024 season (4%), or that they intend to do so (8%). Most say they have not purchased one and have no plans to buy one this year (85%).

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YouGov polled 1,000 British adults online on 10-11 August 2023. The survey was carried out through YouGov Surveys: Self-serve. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Self-serve.