BK8 signs multi-year shirt sponsorship with Aston Villa

Asian betting operator BK8 has been named as the new principal and front of shirt sponsor of English Premier league football club Aston Villa.

The three-year deal will see the operator’s brand featured on the front of Villa’s three shirts until the end of the 2025/26 season.

The club’s third kit, which will be unveiled later in the summer, will see BK8 make a contribution to a local charity in Birmingham for each adult third shirt sold.

The deal also comprises various advertising opportunities including advertising assets at Villa Park, which will be given to charity organisations to display promotional messages throughout the season. The operator will also invest in several brand activations in the city of Birmingham across the course of the partnership.

“We are really delighted to be able to announce our support for local charities as part of our exciting new partnership with Aston Villa,” said BK8 managing director EMEA Michael Gatt. “Being able to give something back to the supporters for their dedication is a hugely significant part of the reason we want to be involved with a prestigious institution, which is what Aston Villa Football Club are. 

“As a brand working in football for the last few years, we have committed to working closely with our partners’ local community initiatives and ensure we continue our commitment to delivering on our ambitions in this area. 

“Over the next three years of this deal we will work tirelessly to make an impact in this area with a number of programmes across the region that engage with Villa supporters locally but also on a global scale.” 

A spokesperson for Aston Villa added: “Through this partnership with BK8 we look forward to exciting collaborations together that will help to grow both brands, particularly within Southeast Asia.”

Previously, BK8 has served as a betting partner for English Championship football club Huddersfield Town.

In June 2021, the operator was ditched by Norwich City just days after unveiling a new sponsorship deal as fans complained about the operator’s marketing, which featured young women in revealing clothes on Instagram and other Asian-facing social media channels.