Manchester United replace back-of-shirt sponsor with club foundation for Champions League return

Manchester United will feature the Manchester United Foundation on the back of their shirts for tonight’s Champions League opener against Sabah FK at Old Trafford, the club has confirmed, filling a sponsorship gap that has existed since Microsoft Surface’s pre-season deal ended.

The arrangement covers the entirety of United’s Champions League campaign. Founded in 2007, the Manchester United Foundation works with more than 30,000 young people each year across Greater Manchester, delivering educational and community engagement programmes.

Foundation CEO Ashley Hackett welcomed the deal. “This is a wonderful opportunity for us, offering unparalleled exposure on one of football’s biggest stages during Manchester United’s famous European nights,” he said. “Proceeds generated from this initiative will be instrumental in helping us to continue to deliver our programmes that make a huge difference to those we work with.”

The shirt news follows United’s confirmation earlier this week that payments firm SumUp has signed a multi-million pound sleeve sponsorship deal, replacing DXC Technology whose agreement with the club expired in the summer.

Tonight’s match marks United’s return to the Champions League after a season away. Their last campaign, in 2023-24, ended in disappointment as the club finished bottom of their group. Manager Michael Carrick, speaking at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, stressed the significance of competing at this level again.

“It means an awful lot,” Carrick said. “It’s challenging yourself against the elite and the very best. This football club has been used to challenging with the best and being the best over a long period of time, and we’ve missed out on it for a number of years and now we’re back.”

Carrick added that qualifying for the competition represented a significant step forward but that the focus now shifts to sustaining that standard. “It’s where we want to be every single year and it’s where we should expect to be,” he said. “It’s up to us to be able to do that.”

Sabah FK, United’s opponents on matchday one, are making their own debut on European football’s biggest stage, having qualified as representatives of Azerbaijan.