Borussia Dortmund, the top-tier German soccer club, have secured a deal with multinational telecommunications firm Vodafone, which will become the club's new main shirt sponsor for the next five seasons.
From the start of the 2025-26 season, the brand will serve as the principal partner of the Bundesliga side, with the tie-up running through the 2029-30 campaign.
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The partnership was brokered by the Sportfive agency, the club’s exclusive marketing partner.
Sportfive has had a partnership with Dortmund since 1999, and their current contract runs until 2031.
Through the deal, the Vodafone logo will feature on the front of Dortmund’s shirts in both domestic and European competitions.
Since the 2020-21 season, the Bundesliga outfit have had separate shirt sponsors for league and cup matches, meaning this represents a change of strategy for the West German outfit.
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By GlobalDataLast season, Dortmund had one shirt sponsor for Bundesliga matches (telecoms firm 1&1) and one for European fixtures, DFB Cup ties, and friendlies played outside of Germany (chemicals group Evonik).
Prior to that, Evonik had been Dortmund's shirt sponsor since the start of the 2006-07 season.
Despite its traditional red branding, Vodafone’s logo will appear in black on all the club’s yellow jerseys after a demand from fans.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, the Borussia Dortmund CEO who will depart from the club at the end of this year, has said: “BVB has competed in the Champions League every year for the past decade. Vodafone, in its field, has always played at a Champions League level.
“The fact that we’ve inspired such a renowned partner to join us during economically challenging times brings us great joy.”
Vodafone and Dortmund will additionally collaborate to launch a “joint innovation and technology initiative” to create new digital fan experiences for Vodafone customers and the club’s supporters.
Despite a rocky season, the German giants ended the 2024-25 Bundesliga campaign strongly and secured a fourth-place finish to qualify for next year’s UEFA Champions League club competition.
