From Carlsberg to Quilmes, we look at some of the most iconic beer sponsors to grace the front of football shirts.
Soccer and alcohol have long gone hand in hand, for better and worse. Booze plays a significant role in the matchday experience, whether at watch parties in bars and pubs, pregame tailgates, or at the stadium itself (depending on where you are). You’d be hard pressed to find a football fan that hasn’t encountered a drunken peer at any of those three locations, and in many cases, they were that person themselves.
But while many romanticize the drinking culture in football, it has had its consequences. In England, alcohol has been restricted in any part of a stadium with a view of the pitch as a result of a growing number of hooliganism incidents throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. The 1980 Scottish Cup Final between Celtic and Rangers saw riots erupt after the match, which led to entire bans on alcohol sales across all sporting events in Scotland. Fan violence continues to be a common issue across the world, and is often fueled or exacerbated by alcohol.
Even still, alcohol companies have reaped the benefits of the substance’s prevalence throughout the sport. Just as ubiquitous as intoxicated fans are billboards, signage, and other sponsorship visuals plastered across stadiums all over the world. Budweiser, currently the official beer of the World Cup, went to great lengths to promote its non-alcoholic Budweiser Zero at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, where alcohol sales were extremely restricted.
Other brands have put their names on tournaments, stadiums, and of course football kits over the years. Some of the beer-sponsored shirts have become among the most iconic of all time. Today, alcohol brands have stepped back from putting their logos on shirts, not because of an increased awareness around the ills of alcohol consumption, but rather because, to paraphrase the words of Michael Jordan, rival fans drink beer too.
Let’s take a look at some of the best alcohol sponsors from years past.
Carlsberg
Notable club: Liverpool
Most known for their nearly two-decade dalliance with Liverpool, Carlsberg was the beneficiary of some of football’s greatest kit designs in the ‘90s. Liverpool were blessed with an iconic run of shirts while partnered with Carlsberg, and while the logo does work quite well, it’s more of the jersey designs that make the sponsor so memorable rather than the sponsor logo itself. Case in point: FC Copenhagen and York United have both donned the Carlsberg logo in the past to little notoriety.
Newcastle Brown Ale
Notable club: Newcastle
On-the-nose usually has a negative connotation, but Newcastle Brown Ale’s partnership with Newcastle United is on the nose in the best way possible. From 1990-2000, the blue star of the brewing company was front and center on its home club’s kit. Branding wise, not even a highly sought-after Nike SB Dunk can compete with that.
Chang
Notable club: Everton
Thai beer brand Chang has lent its logo to several clubs across Asia and Europe, but its most memorable stint was with Everton. That’s right, from 2004-2010, both sides of Merseyside had beer logos across their chests. A personal favorite that’s perhaps a bit underrated is the third kit from 2015-16, an unorthodox olive green shirt with an orange sponsor that really pops.
Coors
Notable club: Chelsea
Coors and Chelsea had a brief partnership in the mid ‘90s that wasn’t particularly notable in terms of design, but there’s something so delightfully odd about seeing a logo as quintessentially American as Coors on a London club’s shirt. This is definitely the rare case of the sponsor making the kit, not the design.
Carling
Notable clubs: Celtic and Rangers
We’ve already seen a pair of rivals have beer sponsors across a period of time on this list, but this one takes it a step further. From 2003-2010, both Glasgow clubs had the same sponsor: Carling. It’s not that surprising, considering Carling is an omnipresent figure especially in Scottish football, but it’s nonetheless an interesting quirk seeing two bitter rivals share a prominent logo. In terms of style points, Celtic takes the cake, as that iconic hoop design is pretty undefeated.
Quilmes
Notable clubs: Boca Juniors and River Plate
We head to Buenos Aires for another pair of rivals that shared an iconic beer sponsor. The Superclasico is one of, perhaps the most, fierce football derbies in the world, and between 1996 and 2001, both clubs donned the Cerveza Quilmes logo across the front of their jerseys.
The logo has become equally as iconic as the kits from that era, as both River and Boca have undisputed classics in that time span. Quilmes is still sponsoring clubs today, most notably Quilmes Atletico Club, who hail from the same hometown.
