AS Roma, sponsorships and the reality gap with the Premier League | OneFootball

Roma’s commercial reality lags behind the Premier League, forcing the club to prioritise stable sponsorships and regulated partners to keep the project moving forward.

There’s a rule of modern football few enjoy admitting: the sharper a league looks on television, the easier it is to sell. The Premier League has mastered the broadcast product. Serie A is catching up, but older stadiums and a smaller commercial pie still influence decisions clubs make off the pitch. For Roma, that gap isn’t just a perception issue; it influences sponsorship strategy, risk appetite and how quickly the sporting project can move.

Roma have already lived the cost of volatility. When a front-of-shirt deal goes sideways, the impact is financial and reputational. It forces executives to prioritise partners who can provide funds, pass strict compliance checks and communicate clearly with supporters. That’s the new baseline

Why Regulated Partners Matter and What the Offer Looks Like

Across the Premier League, clubs have turned to alternative commercial partners to steady their finances. One area has been online casino agreements, where transparency and compliance are mandatory under UK law. These safeguards are not just technicalities but shape the way promotions are structured, ensuring they are clear, time-limited and accessible only to adults. That is why typical incentives such as bonus spins on first deposit in UK, which might include a 100 per cent deposit match of up to £100 and 50 bonus spins, come with detailed conditions. Wagering requirements, expiry dates and stake limits are set out in advance, meaning operators can forecast costs and revenues with greater certainty. For football clubs, that reliability makes sponsorship income more stable than in the past, when deals with less regulated partners often collapsed mid-season.

Many of the companies behind these platforms started in Europe more than a decade ago and scaled on the strength of design-led products and rigorous compliance frameworks. For rights holders, that combination of UX competence and licensing discipline reduces the chance of mid-season headaches and helps finance departments plan with a steadier hand.

Roma’s sponsorship landscape after turbulence

In Italy, that sort of reliability has become particularly prized. Roma’s sponsorship landscape, severely affected by fallout over the past decade, shows why caution matters.

That turbulence has not been limited to Roma. Across Serie A, sponsorship has become a barometer of wider economic pressures. While Premier League clubs continue to pull away on the back of record broadcast deals and international partnerships, Italian sides often have to stitch together multiple smaller agreements just to keep pace. The collapse of DigitalBits, once a prominent name on Roma’s shirt, underlined how quickly things can unravel. For supporters, it was a reminder that commercial decisions carry risks as visible as any tactical misstep on the pitch.

The Premier League’s broadcast advantage and why it matters to Serie A

Pundits often describe England’s edge as a television product as much as a sporting one. Full-looking grounds, crisp audio and camera language that flatters the viewer all feed into sponsorship rates and hospitality sales. Serie A has made progress — new builds and renovations are underway — but the Olimpico, the Maradona and the Franchi still ask broadcasters to work harder. When a neutral drops in on a Sunday night, the English game simply looks more expensive, and global brands tend to follow the path of least resistance.

That doesn’t mean Italian clubs lack a story to sell. If anything, Serie A’s plurality is a strength: different champions, tight European races, real jeopardy into May. Package that properly, and it becomes a compelling pitch to conservative partners who want reach and resonance, not just impressions.

Financial guardrails and the new definition of “safe”

Call them sustainability rules, cost controls or break-even tests, they exist across UEFA and domestic leagues, and they push executives towards dependable cash flows. That is why you keep seeing regulated categories on pitch boards and training kits, whether they’re financial services, hospitality or tightly licensed online entertainment. The goal is fewer surprises and more scope to back the sporting side decisively when opportunities arise.

Lessons for Roma: stability over slogans

Roma’s direction is clear. Reduce sponsorship risk, keep the stadium full and loud, compete deep into UEFA competitions and make the club an obvious bet for risk-averse international brands. The more often Roma play decisive matches under the lights, the easier it is to convince boardrooms that the audience is engaged and the platform is stable.

That’s where regulated partners help in practice. A transparent offer with strict eligibility, clear terms and oversight isn’t about pushing fans towards anything; it’s about demonstrating to the market that the club works with adult-only, licensed entities that meet a high bar. The ethics here matter.

Why the fans remain Roma’s trump card

A final point often missed in spreadsheets: Roma’s supporters make the product. Home atmospheres translate to broadcast even when the architecture fights the camera, and the club’s digital storytelling around big nights has improved year on year. A modern partner buys into that audience as much as a logo. In 2025, most categories expect community engagement that they can measure, not just TV minutes. That’s an area where Roma can match Premier League peers on authenticity if not on raw global scale.