Shirt sponsors are something that football fans have accepted as inevitable, and some are even celebrated for bringing money into the club. However, not all unions are a match made in football shirt heaven. In the realm of questionable partnerships, some football shirts have become a canvas for ill-conceived logos and designs that left fans cringing and players looking less than stellar.
From the iconic green and white hoops of Celtic tainted by a confused yellow Dafabet logo to the regrettable Pizza Hut sponsorship on Fulham's otherwise lovely kit, these collaborations prove that even the most successful clubs can fall victim to questionable taste.
So buckle up and put on your worst football shirt as Football FanCast takes you on a journey through some of the worst-looking shirt sponsors of all time.
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For this list, we've ordered these shirt sponsorships by what we consider to be the worst designs, whether for being embarrassing or just downright ugly.
12 Dafabet Celtic 2016-present
Celtic's famous green and white hoops deserve so much better than a messy yellow Dafabet logo. It may be the most expensive sponsorship deal in Scottish football history, but money can't buy taste. It can pay for a decent graphic designer, though – something Dafabet seemingly skimped out on when they designed their logo.
As Celtic have established themselves as the dominant force in Scottish football over the past decade or so, Dafabet jumped on the bandwagon in 2016 when they first started sponsoring their kits. The original deal was only for two years, but it was extended in 2018, to the detriment of Celtic's potentially beautiful shirts.
11 XL Holidays West Ham United 2007-2008
A chaotic club sponsored by a chaotic company. In theory, this should have worked perfectly, but on paper it was awful. The XL in the middle of West Ham's 2008/09 strip was pretty representative of the size of the mess this partnership turned out to be.
The company went bust in the middle of the season, leaving holidaymakers high and dry across the world, and West Ham without a sponsor. At least they didn't have to endure that logo for too long.
10 Pizza Hut Fulham 2001-2002
And you thought that one Fulham fan eating a Victoria Sponge cake in the stands was the worst food-related incident to happen at Craven Cottage. Fulham's 2001/02 Pizza Hut shirt sponsor was abysmal. It was made even worse by the fact that the kit itself was otherwise pretty smart.
The big red hut/hat (?) logo drew the eye to the centre of the shirt, with 'Pizza Hut' emblazoned just beneath in its tacky, try-hard 90s font. It's hard to make Louis Saha look uncool, but they managed it. Thankfully, the partnership only lasted for a year. Domino's is better, anyway.
9 Flamingo Land Hull City 2015-2016
Flamingo Land is a fun-filled day out for all the family, but a terrible sponsor for a football shirt. Hull City received universal ridicule when they revealed that Flamingo Land would be their main sponsor in 2015. It was the most embarrassing thing to happen to the club since they started chanting "You're getting mauled by the Tigers".
It was an all-black logo on a mostly gold/orange shirt, and its goofy font made it an easy target to mock. It's another relationship that ended after just one season. Perhaps then Hull City owner Assem Allam saw everyone taking the Michael on Twitter. Flamingo Land are now a sleeve sponsor for Leeds United.
8 Lete Napoli 2006-2023
Don't get us started on Napoli and football kits. The club from Naples released a ridiculous 36 different kits in 2022/23, most of them commemorating their title win, and all of them with that awful, giant, red 'Lete' on the front.
From Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer to Diego Maradona, each shirt was sullied by a sponsor that is far too big. This isn't a new thing, Lete, a company that rose to prominence bottling mineral water, became Napoli's main sponsor in 2005. Some of the club's greatest-ever players have been saddled with shirts strewn with their giant logo.
7 Samsic Stade Rennais 2004-present
Don't get us wrong, there is nothing to write home about this shirt, but even on a canvas so plain and bang-average, the giant 'S' for Samsic could have at least been made a little smaller. France is one of the most stylish countries in the world, but we guess not everyone can have Jordan collabs.
For a company that specialises in cleaning and efficient facilities management, this sponsor sure is messy. Stade Rennais have produced some world-class young talent in recent years. Eduardo Camavinga probably left for Real Madrid just so he didn't have to wear this shirt.
6 Cazoo Various clubs, 2020-present
This one might be a bit of a cop-out, but the Cazoo sponsor is SO bad, none of the clubs they've sponsored over the years have been able to make it look good. Aston Villa, Marseille and Real Sociedad are just a few clubs that have been stuck with a giant 'Cazoo' soiling their otherwise stunning shirts.
The logo is just far too big, it goes from one side of the shirt to the other. Does everyone really need to know where they can buy, sell, or part-exchange their car that badly? These are huge clubs that have had their often beautiful shirts ruined by used car salesmen.
To add further insult (literally), it has also received notoriety in Italy for being very close to a word with a variety of vulgar meanings (that didn't stop Bologna last year, mind).
5 Wonga Newcastle United, 2013-2017
Even if you're able to get past the immorality of a company like Wonga ever existing in the first place, you can't defend how awful their logo looked on the Newcastle United shirt. As if exploiting poor people for loans they'd never be able to pay back wasn't enough, they had to make Fabricio Coloccini look rather daft.
It's made even worse by the fact that Newcastle have had some stunning kits over the years. The old Newcastle Brown Ale shirts in the late 90s are some of the most iconic in Premier League history. Thankfully, they no longer have Wonga on the front of their shirt, they have Sela – a Saudi Arabian events company that definitely has no connection to the new ownership in any way, shape, or form.
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ByMark Marston Jun 19, 2023 4 Burger King Getafe, 2009-2012
It's hard being Getafe. Eternally behind fellow Madrid clubs Real and Atletico, they're never going to get the glamourous sponsors, so they got stuck with Burger King. The gaudy fast food conglomerate's logo sat in the middle of their shirt like an unwanted gherkin on a Whopper.
The icing on the cake, or cheese on the burger if you will, was the printed-on picture of the Burger King himself on the inside of the shirt, so if a player was to pull their shirt over their head, the meaty monarch's face would be in place of theirs. At least they didn't make them wear those paper crowns.
3 Ty Portsmouth 2002-2005
Beanie Babies are adorable, just keep them out of football. The early 2000s was a rough time for English football kits – first we had Fulham, and now Portsmouth, both sporting shirts with logos of American companies that don't care for style.
It must have been hard for Teddy Sheringham and co to intimidate their opponents when they had a giant, red love heart in the middle of their shirts. The sponsorship coincided with Pompey's promotion to the Premier League for maximum visibility. We wonder how many limited-edition Portsmouth FC Beanie Babies are currently sitting in the attics of the Pompey faithful.