English men's soccer’s elite Premier League competition has agreed a new five-year fan-experience-focused strategic partnership with global tech giant Microsoft.
As the official cloud and ai partner for the Premier League’s digital platforms, Microsoft will integrate its ‘Copilot’ consumer-facing artificial intelligence software across the competition’s digital infrastructure.
Powered by the Azure OpenAI solution, Copilot will provide fans with responsive player, team, and league data from across the history of the competition on the official Premier League app, as well as the league’s digital sites.
Question and answer capability will also be included with translations into multiple languages, as Copilot will also be integrated into the Premier League’s fantasy football game, which much like the NFL’s fantasy football, has become a social phenomenon in the UK.
This partnership will also extend to the Premier League’s broadcast infrastructure, with Azure OpenAI to provide real-time data overlays and post-match insight during game broadcasts.
Speaking on the partnership, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters commented: “This partnership will help us engage with fans in new ways — from personalized content to real-time match insights.”
Additionally, Copilot will assist the Premier League itself to aid organizational efficiency, with the league set to transition its tech infrastructure to Microsoft’s Azure platform.
Microsoft executive vice president and chief commercial officer Judson Althoff continued: “By leveraging our secure cloud and AI technologies—including Azure AI Foundry Services with Azure OpenAI, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Dynamics 365 —we will transform how football is experienced, delivered, and managed on and off the field.”
This partnership effectively serves as Microsoft’s entry into the Premier League, although the tech giant has partnered with soccer clubs on an individual basis in the past, boasting deals with Spain’s Real Sociedad, and US side Seattle Sounders in the 2024-25 season.
As one of Europe’s so-called “Big five” soccer competitions, the Premier League is perhaps the most prominent domestic soccer competition on the planet, and as such is a magnet for major international brand investment.
Most recently, back in May, soft drinks giant Coca-Cola agreed a new three-year sponsorship deal to cover the league through the 2027-28 campaign.
The other major commercial partners in the league’s portfolio are EA Sports FC, Barclays, Guinness, Hublot, Nike, and Oracle, after the league switched from a title sponsorship model to a multi-category structure in 2016.
