The Most Surprising Trophy Sponsors, Revealed

The thrilling conclusion to the Papa John’s Football League Trophy took place at Wembley earlier this April. However, Rotherham midfielder Jordi Osei-Tutu’s stoppage-time equaliser was far from the event’s biggest talking point.

In never-before-seen scenes at Wembley Stadium, the Papa John’s Trophy and match ball were delivered by comedians and supporters of the two clashing clubs – Paul Chuckle and Tim Vine – travelling onto the pitch on motorbikes, before producing both trophy and match ball from a specially designed Papa John’s takeaway pizza box.

The unforgettable moment has got the team at Betway thinking about the impact that different sponsors have had upon the beautiful game and its long history of knockout competitions.

Papa John’s pizzas are not the only brand to pen their name to a football trophy. The UK boasts a long tradition of suffix surprising sponsors to its knockout tournaments, with everything from Thailand-based energy drinks to the Scottish government and everything in between getting a look in over the years.

We have revealed the stories behind how some of these sponsors came to be attached to their trophies, plus any effects that they had on the game itself.

Papa John’s

The first non-UK based brand and the first takeaway pizza restaurant to ever take over sponsorship of the EFL Trophy, after a surprisingly long tradition of the tournament being sponsored by brands related to commercial vehicles.

The deal for Papa John’s to take over sponsorship of the EFL Trophy was made in 2020, with the takeaway pizza brand also becoming the inaugural Official Pizza of the EFL.

In response to the brand deal, Burton Albion players who participated in the Papa John’s Trophy that season took to the streets to distribute free pizza to local families during the half-term.

The Milk Marketing Board

The first time a major trophy was sponsored in England was in 1981, when the Milk Marketing Board took over the League Cup, in an active effort to encourage the people of the UK to buy more milk.

Fittingly dubbed the Milk Cup, the sponsorship deal ran for five seasons, with Liverpool, Norwich City and Oxford United all getting their hands on the trophy during the Milk Marketing Board’s tenure.

We know what you’re thinking, and no, this trophy was not filled to the brim with milk. In fact, this repurposed trophy was not built with a hollow inside, so even drinking champagne out of it was not an option.

Littlewoods

In 1986, the then high street retailer Littlewoods took over the Milk Marketing Board’s mantle to claim sponsorship rights of the League Cup, retaining them up until 1990.

Although this sponsor is not particularly peculiar, some controversy was brought about with the introduction of a new specially designed trophy – which had removed the traditional trophy handles.

This handleless trophy was picked up by Arsenal, Luton and Nottingham Forest during Littlewoods’ tenure, before Rumblebows took over sponsorship of the League Cup in the 1990/91 season, bringing back the original trophy in the process.

Carabao

It is far from unusual for a drinks brand to attach itself to the League Cup. After all, alcohol brands Carling, Coors and Worthington’s, along with Coca-Cola and of course, milk had all been sponsors of this trophy before.

In 2017, the Thailand-based company represented the first time an Asian brand had taken sponsorship of a UK knockout football tournament. However, the brand caused quite a stir when they decided to alter the way the tournament draw was made.

In a controversial move, the brand decided to hold the draw for the 2017 edition of the tournament’s third round away from the UK, moving it instead to Beijing, China. What’s more, is that this draw went out at 4:15 am UK time, meaning fans of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bristol Rovers had to wait up really late to find out their teams had clashed in their race for the cup.

The Scottish Government

The One time that politics really did get involved with football was between 2011 and 2013, when the Scottish Government became the surprise sponsors of the Scottish League Cup.

The thinking behind the sponsorship was part of a government initiative to get young people in Scotland more involved in sport, while helping to provide investment to Scottish football clubs to become community sports hubs – as part of the government’s Cashback for Communities campaign.

The two tournaments that took place under the Scottish Government’s sponsorship each had surprise champions, with Kilmarnock in 2011/12 and St. Mirren in 2012/13 each getting their hands on the trophy for the first time.

Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer

Staying in Scotland, 2019 saw another one of Scotland’s proudest institutions, Tunnock’s, attach their famous Caramel Wafer snack as the official sponsor of the Challenge Cup.

The popular confectionery took over from another tasty Scottish treat, Irn Bru, which had held the sponsorship rights for the trophy for three seasons prior. Victory in this competition must have tasted sweet.

Paul Bunyan’s Axe

The world of British football is not the only space where surprising sponsors have been allowed to roost. The Paul Bunyan Axe Trophy is shaped like an actual axe and has been fiercely contested between college American Football teams, Minnesota Golden Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers, since the year 1948.

Things can often get a bit hectic once the final whistle blows too, with the winner of each year’s event attempting to use the enormous axe-shaped trophy to cut down their opponents’ goalposts.

Spongebob Squarepants

Somehow, trophies manage to get even stranger in the USA, with one event in the popular motor racing sport, Nascar, awarding its champion with a trophy in the shape of the beloved children’s cartoon character, Spongebob Squarepants.

The Spongebob Squarepants 400 was a legitimate event that takes place in Kansas, USA in May 2015. The Spongebob shaped trophy was won by Nascar racer, Jimmie Johnson, who took the title home to California, rather than Bikini Bottom.