Barclays has announced it has doubled its investment in women’s football through a new multi-year sponsorship.
The new sponsorship deal will see the bank continue as title sponsor of the Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship to 2028.
Barclays became title sponsor of the Women’s Super League in 2019, which was the biggest investment ever made by a brand into women’s sport in the UK.
Since then, women’s football has seen exponential growth. The Barclays Women’s Super League is now the most followed women’s domestic league, with 3.2 million followers and average attendance at matches up by 283% since the 2021/22 season.
Tom Corbett, group head of sponsorship, Barclays said: “I speak for all my colleagues when I say how proud we are to be continuing our sponsorship of football.
“This latest agreement solidifies our long-term commitment to supporting the game at every level and creating opportunities for everyone to benefit from it.”
To celebrate the renewal, 14 mascots from the leagues descended on Barclays Headquarters to personally “sign, seal and deliver” the deal in a joyous, ‘mock-umentary’ style video.
The mascots can be seen making a hectic entrance to Barclays’ headquarters in Canary Wharf, struggling to navigate City life with its revolving doors, security passes, immaculate meeting rooms and busy lifts.
The film features a cameo from Barclays Ambassador and Arsenal legend Ian Wright OBE, who happens to be sitting in the lobby when Arsenal’s Gunnersaurus gives him an eager wave.
The bank has also extended its partnership with the Football Association (FA) for a further three years, to drive equality both on and off the pitch through the Barclays Girls’ Football School Partnerships.
The bank has also renewed its sponsorship of the Premier League, remaining as its official banking partner for a further four years.
Extending its 23-year-long relationship with the Premier League, the new agreement will also see Barclays and the Premier League coming together on a number of community initiatives, to drive greater diversity across the future football workforce, particularly in under-represented groups.