Nottingham Forest is the latest English Premier League team to sign a front-of-shirt betting-related agreement, inking a deal with Kaiyun Sports. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

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Nottingham Forest has announced that Asian sports betting operator Kaiyun Sports is on board as its new front-of-shirt sponsor. This two-year agreement began on Wednesday night, in time for the English Premier League (EPL) side’s Carabao Cup defeat at home to Burnley.

did not have any sponsor on the front of the jersey last season

Forest is the latest EPL club to get a new gambling-related front-of-shirt sponsor since the announcement of a ban on these types of agreements from the 2026-2027 season onwards. The side did not have any sponsor on the front of the jersey last season, which was reportedly due to the lack of offers that met its asking price. The team displayed the UN refugee agency UNHR’s logo from December last season.

Questions remain

Talking about the new agreement with the EPL squad, Kaiyun Sports Chief Marketing Officer Byrne Howard said that the “collaboration with Nottingham Forest Football Club will be a milestone for us to step onto the global stage.”

The club’s statement mentioned how this new agreement will help it grow on and off the pitch. The two parties will work together to provide some “exciting activations and initiatives to engage with new and existing audiences in Asia and across the world.”

received some backlash on social media over its new shirt sponsor

Forest has already received some backlash on social media over its new shirt sponsor. Some people noted that the press release announcing the new relationship labeled Kaiyun as a “digital sports platform” and did not mention anything about gambling or betting. There are also questions about the operator’s logo featuring Chinese Mandarin writing, as this could be seen as the company trying to appeal to people in China, where gambling is illegal.

Another issue is that many fans already bought the 2023-2024 team jersey. The club will be providing information to those people who wish to get the new sponsor logo added retroactively.

Still big business

Kaiyun Sports already has relationships with other EPL teams, appearing on the jersey sleeves of Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. These types of advertising positions will still be permitted when the front-of-shirt ban goes into effect. The brand also has partnerships with European powerhouses Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

Kaiyun’s main focus is on the Asian market. While it does have a UK-facing website, one is under construction. TGP Europe operates the offering and also has white-label agreements with other brands that have relationships with EPL teams.

The idea behind the front-of-shirt sponsorship ban is to stop young people from getting so much exposure to pro-gambling imagery. Teams are cashing in before the restriction comes into place; Fulham and Burnley are other EPL clubs to strike similar deals for this season.