Aston Villas new kit: Tone-deaf gambling sponsor, crest confusion and plenty of debate

Publish date: 2024-06-12

Kit-reveal days are supposed to be a lively and engaging way to get supporters through the vacant summer days when football is sorely missed.

Inevitably there are moans and groans at the design, the price or the use of certain colours, but typically there’s an overwhelming feeling of positivity.

There was plenty of optimism at Villa already after last season’s seventh-place finish helped them return to European football for the first time in 13 years.

That was until the 2022-23 kit was released on Thursday, sparking widespread debate and a fair share of criticism, most of it pointed towards Villa’s new front-of-shirt sponsors…

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BK8 and the controversial sponsorship

It was already known that online betting company BK8 — a firm dropped after three days by Norwich City in 2021 following outrage over sexualised adverts involving young women — were in the running to strike a partnership with the Premier League club.

The Aston Villa Fans Consultation Group wrote to ex-CEO Christian Purslow asking for a deal to be reconsidered and citing the “ethics” of sponsorship deals with such gambling firms.

In April, Premier League clubs voted to ban betting firms on the front of shirts from the start of the 2026-27 campaign, although sleeve sponsorships and LED pitchside advertising will still be permitted.

Before that, Purslow, alongside his chief commercial officer, Nicola Ibbetson, agreed to meet with the fans’ group, but their message was clear. In order to stay competitive with the clubs already established in higher positions, Villa needed to increase revenue streams.

Villa’s three-year deal with BK8 — a club-record agreement worth considerably more than the £6million-a-year agreement with previous sponsor Cazoo — takes them right up to the cut-off point for having gambling companies on the front of shirts.

OW11. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bUeXm7ytr9

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) June 22, 2023

Villa said the partnership with BK8 was “a further statement of both the success and ambition of this club”, but users on social media labelled it “tone-deaf” and “disappointing”.

BK8 has pledged to “make a contribution from every adult third shirt sold to a local charity in Birmingham”. The club’s third kit has not been released yet and BK8 could not specify which charity it will be supporting, but said it was “working closely with Aston Villa, who will help us to identify a number of charities in the local area that we will work on with this”.

What is BK8?

BK8 is a gambling company that has already sponsored other English football clubs, including Crystal Palace, Burnley and Huddersfield Town.

It is an example of what is known as a “white-label” gambling firm. This means it pays an intermediary firm — in this case TGP Europe Ltd, based on the Isle of Man — so it is able to be licensed and regulated to operate in Great Britain.

This white-label process involves setting up a website that is designed to “look and feel like a company or brand, but the contents and services provided on the website are operated and managed by a licensed gambling company”, says the UK Gambling Commission. “This is typically a commercial arrangement where both parties share any profit from the website.”

BK8’s major market, however, is Asia, and its social media activity suggests close ties to Malaysia and Indonesia. A Villa spokesman said the club looked forward “to exciting collaborations together that will help to grow both brands, particularly within south east Asia”.

It is not clear where BK8 is actually based, however. When The Athletic asked where the company is run from and the address of its HQ, BK8 said: “We have European operational functions and working practices that are based in our European headquarters in Malta and Curacao.”

The white-label arrangement means BK8 is not required to list its directors on Companies House, the UK’s register of companies. The Athletic asked who runs BK8 and who the firm’s CEO is and was told: “We have a number of directors/CEOs responsible for their work in various regions. Managing director Michael Gatt is responsible for BK8 operations in Europe.”

What happened with BK8 and Norwich City?

Norwich cancelled their shirt sponsorship for the 2021-22 Premier League season with BK8 in June 2021 after the company was found to be using highly sexualised images of young women in social media promotions that would have been banned by the UK Advertising Standards Agency.

The Instagram account of a BK8 “ambassador” with more than a quarter of a million followers also linked directly to hardcore pornography, as revealed by The Athletic.

It led to a backlash from Norwich supporters on Twitter, more than 100 complaints sent to the club and video statements from supporters’ groups.

BK8 said it would “review its marketing strategy” after the Norwich deal ended, yet a quick search for #BK8 on Instagram this week still brings up images of glamorous women and men promoting its products.

The Advertising Standards Authority’s code of conduct states that advertising must not “link gambling to seduction, sexual success or enhanced attractiveness”. In Asia, it is legal for BK8 to offer games like “Sweet Bonanza” online and use provocative images to promote their product.

A BK8 spokesperson said: “Over the past two years we have worked extremely hard to address previous mistakes and have since developed a clear strategy where we work with our partners (football clubs) on good causes and address issues such as sexism, equality and mental health awareness – doing some fantastic work in the community with our ambassadors such as (former England footballers) Kelly Smith and Faye White. We are passionate about continuing to give back to great causes in football.

“We have worked with organisations like Her Game Too (a voluntary campaign of UK football fans) to work hard to address issues of equality. We are in the planning phase of identifying specific opportunities where we can leverage support from HGT to help promote this partnership with Aston Villa, alongside our football ambassadors.”

New crest/old crest

At 10am on Thursday, when Villa announced BK8 with a social media graphic splitting the claret of Aston Villa and the blue of the online casino, the image contained the old club crest.

Aston Villa have agreed a multi-year partnership with BK8, which sees the brand join as the new Principal and Front of Shirt Partner.

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) June 22, 2023

Last November, however, a news story on the official club website had stated that the new crest would be used on the 2023-24 kits.

All was explained in the kit release statement just three hours later.

The new playing and training kit will include the new crest, which was voted for by 77 per cent of the 21,500 supporters involved during the consultation period last year, but the club will “continue to use the existing shield design around Villa Park and on our digital channels, as well as in other areas”.

And there was more: “Aston Villa will monitor local, national and global reaction along with feedback to use of both the crest and kit moniker as the 2023-24 campaign progresses. With our landmark 150th anniversary on the horizon next season, the club will further engage with supporters on the future identity of Aston Villa and how it should look for the next 150 years and beyond.”

So how much life does the round crest, which now includes the words “Aston Villa” and a redesigned lion, actually have?

What may seem like a marketing mess-up is in fact a consequence of changes within the management structure at the club, with Chris Heck, a commercial expert, now arriving as the president of business operations. His brief is to globalise the Aston Villa brand, so changes to the crest are a big deal in his world.

The club wants more time to see which crest is better suited to helping further increase revenue streams.

Former CEO Purslow was in charge of this area but has since moved on, so new ideas are floating around.

Villa Park holds around 40,000 supporters every week and there’s now a 35,000 season-ticket waiting list, so more views are likely to be welcomed as the club plans further engagement around the topic.

So, are people going to buy this shirt?

There is still a lot of optimism around the design of the Castore shirt, especially with so much excitement ahead of the new season.

While there was criticism towards the sponsors and confusion around the crest, the shirt has actually been well received by many supporters who like the new style.

Fans enjoyed the kit-reveal video, too, which featured Harry Potter actors David Bradley and Oliver Phelps — both followers of the club.

The “Pro” shirt costs £115, an adult version is £70 and a kids’ shirt — which does not feature the BK8 branding — is £55.

(Top photo: Aston Villa Football Club)