Bundesliga Passes EPL For Total Shirt Sponsorship Income

Football Merchandising Report Ranks Bayern Munich As Having Most Valuable Shirt Sponsorship

Sport & Markt's European Football Merchandising Report indicates that the German Bundesliga has overtaken the English Premier League (EPL) as the soccer league with the "largest total income from shirt sponsorship," according to Nick Szczepanik of the LONDON TIMES. Also, Bundesliga club Bayern Munich is ranked ahead of EPL club Manchester United as having the "single most valuable shirt sponsorship deal." The report shows that the "economic climate and the drop in the exchange rate of the pound against the euro have been largely responsible for reducing the value of English sponsorship deals relative to those of the top European clubs -- even though the contracts have not been renegotiated." In addition, the "overall level of shirt sponsorship across the six main European leagues has dropped for the first time," from US$527.1M last season to US$511.3M this season. Sport & Markt Exec Dir Hartmut Zastrow said, "The main reasons why the Bundesliga now generates higher income from jersey sponsorships than the Premier League lies in (clubs) lacking jersey partners and the current weakness of the British currency." He added West Ham United shirt sponsor XL airlines went bankrupt, West Bromwich Albion "have yet to find a partner and Aston Villa now bears the logo of a charity organisation on its jersey." But Sport & Markt said that it "expects England to regain its pre-eminence." Sport & Markt Int'l Sales Dir Gareth Moore: "If the currency or the teams that are lacking a paying sponsor recover, the Premier League will top the ranking again next season" (LONDON TIMES, 11/25).