Former Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams spoke about the "prevalence of gambling companies sponsoring football teams," according to Anthony Reuben of the BBC. Asked whether he thought such sponsorship should stop, he said, "Yes, absolutely. I think it's time. Like the alcohol sponsorship of the past." However, there is "nothing to stop alcohol companies sponsoring football teams" in the EPL -- it is "down to the clubs to choose their sponsors." The FA has "intricate rules" introduced in '00 about how and where sponsorship may appear on football kits. The only items "specifically forbidden" from being advertised on kits are tobacco products. When the EPL started, it was the big consumer electronics companies that "dominated the sponsorship." In '95-96, which was the first season when the league was down to 20 teams from the original 22, "half the clubs were sponsored by electronics and technology companies." But by the start of the new millennium, that had fallen to three companies, and in the last 10 seasons there has been "no more than one company from this category per season." The second-most common type of shirt sponsor is the financial sector, with 90 seasons of shirts. There has been a financial shirt sponsor in the EPL in all but one season. Companies selling alcoholic drinks "peaked relatively early in its history," but have been "almost ever-present," with only last season and the current one having no club sponsored by a drinks company. In total, there have been 62 seasons of alcohol sponsorship. The "big growth" in gambling companies sponsoring EPL clubs' shirts came after The Gambling Act 2005 allowed them to advertise on TV and radio for the first time (BBC, 9/22).
