Manchester United have announced a multi-year partnership with Betway worth a reported £20 million per year, making the betting company the club’s new training kit sponsor and exclusive global betting partner.
The deal is reportedly the biggest standalone training-kit or shirt-sleeve sponsorship in football, giving United another major commercial revenue stream after spending a season without a dedicated training-kit partner. Their previous agreement with Tezos, reportedly worth £24 million annually, ended in June 2025.
But the more interesting story is where betting sponsorship is moving.
Premier League clubs agreed to remove gambling-company branding from the front of matchday shirts from the 2026/27 season. United’s new deal shows that the restrictions do not necessarily mean gambling brands are disappearing from football’s commercial ecosystem. Instead, sponsorship opportunities are shifting towards training kits, digital content, stadium advertising and broader partnership arrangements.
For United, that creates a particularly valuable opportunity.
The training kit is worn regularly at Carrington and by the club’s men’s and women’s teams, while Betway’s branding will also appear through club media and matchday activations at Old Trafford and Leigh Sports Village. That gives the sponsor access to United’s enormous global audience without occupying the front of the competitive matchday shirt.
It also explains why £20 million is significant.
United reportedly spent more than a year searching for the right replacement after Tezos departed rather than accepting an offer below their valuation. The club has now secured a figure close to the previous agreement while operating in a market where sponsorship conditions have become more complicated.
The financial boost could matter beyond the commercial department. United are trying to improve the squad while also dealing with the financial consequences of several years of poor sporting performance and restructuring.
But the partnership will not be universally welcomed.
Some fans are uncomfortable with the club partnering with a betting company, particularly at a time when football is attempting to reduce gambling exposure on matchday shirts. The debate is likely to intensify because the training kit is still highly visible through social media, club content and supporters buying replica merchandise.
That leaves United with an interesting commercial victory and a complicated public-relations challenge.
The betting logo may be leaving the matchday shirt, but the betting money clearly isn’t leaving football.
