For many people a sponsor's name belongs on an old football shirt just as much as the badge does. It was not always like that, though, and the history differs from country to country and league to league. Below is what is known in broad terms. We deliberately leave out exact years and club names: they differ per country and we have not checked them here.
First, no sponsor
In the first decades of organised football, teams usually wore only a badge or a simple emblem, or nothing at all. A company name on the chest came later. In broad terms, sponsors appeared on professional shirts in Europe from the 1970s onwards, earlier in one country than in another.
Rules set by associations, leagues and broadcasters often decided whether a name was allowed and how big it could be. That is why the years differ from country to country, and sometimes even from league to league.
From side issue to time capsule
In the 1980s and 1990s a sponsor on the chest became normal. It was often a company from the region or from the sector the club itself was linked to. Some of those companies still exist; others were taken over, changed their name or disappeared.
A sponsor's name on the chest is a time capsule.
That is exactly what makes an old shirt interesting to collectors: the sponsor says something about the region, the time and sometimes about a company that is no longer there.
How did the sponsor get on the shirt?
On older shirts a sponsor's name is usually ironed on, sometimes embroidered or worked into the fabric. After years of wear and washing, an ironed-on print can crack, come loose or partly disappear. That comes with age and is not proof of a reproduction in itself. How to tell original shirts from fakes is explained in How to spot a genuine vintage football shirt.
The sponsor as a clue
- A sponsor can help date the season, but not always: some sponsors stayed on the shirt for several years.
- A changing sponsor between two seasons is a handy reference point for comparing shirts.
- If you find a sponsor that appears in no season archive, keep looking before you claim anything.
- Unsure? Say so honestly. What you do not know is part of the story.
WornLUnion Zandberg 1993/94 home
€49.00
What we do not claim here
We do not give exact years or club stories here, because we have not checked them for every country. Do you have a well-documented story about a sponsor or a club? Email it to us. A good story gets a place on the site, with your name on it if you like.
