The Premier League is reportedly close to welcoming back Coca-Cola as its official soft drinks partner, with a potential deal set to be agreed as early as today.
England’s top-flight league has been without a soft drinks partner since Coca-Cola’s previous deal expired in 2022. However, Sky News reported that the beverage giant is in talks to make a comeback.
A deal worth millions is on the table, according to the publication’s sources, which could be finalised at the Premier League’s shareholders meeting today.
There are still some elements of the deal that remain unclear, however. One being which of Coca-Cola’s 200 brands will take centre stage. The US-based company has a range of popular soft drinks brands, such as Powerade, Sprite and of course, Coca-Cola.
The company has a long history of sponsoring the sports industry, particularly football. FC Bayern Munich, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Paris Saint-Germain, and Tottenham Hotspur are among just some of the clubs it has deals with.
English football, in particular, is well acquainted with Coca-Cola. The brand was the title sponsor of the League Cup during the 1990s and sponsored the English Football League (EFL) Championship in the early 2000s.
As mentioned above, the drink manufacturer’s latest deal in English football expired in 2022, where it held the title of the official soft drinks partner of the Premier League. While it is unclear why the two entities didn’t renew the deal, it is surprising that England’s top-flight division never found a replacement.
Commercial partnerships are a vital source of revenue at every level of sports, though many people are more commonly aware of their impact at the club level. The Premier League currently has a plethora of partnerships, including Microsoft and Guinness.
Guinness, owned by Diageo, became the official beer partner of the league last year as part of a four-year partnership. The deal provided Guinness with global rights and marketing opportunities. This allowed the Irish company to push its alcohol-free product, Guinness 0.0, as it became the official non-alcoholic beer of the league as well.
While the Premier League used the partnership to enhance the viewing experience in “pubs, bars and homes around the world”. It also leveraged the popularity of the drink to reinforce its own reputation for being one of the top leagues in the world.
