Midnite has continued its spending spree in the Sky Bet EFL Championship, this time locking down a deal to become Southampton FC’s official training kit partner.
The London-based operator first partnered with The Saints last season, funding luxury away travel through the Midnite Express, commissioning a commemorative tifo marking the 50-year anniversary of Southampton’s FA Cup success, and providing hospitality experiences through the Ticket Treats campaign.
For the 2026/27 season, Midnite will introduce a ‘2UP’ campaign, giving fans an opportunity to win a jackpot if the side goes two goals up in a match.
It follows the company’s recent deals with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United – clubs whose fans will also benefit from the ‘2UP’ campaign – confirming that a fourth big name Championship side will be sponsored by Midnite for the 2026/27 season.
Southampton would have always been an obvious target for businesses looking for sponsorship deals outside of the Premier League.
The club has spent 12 of the last 14 seasons in the top flight and just last season made a memorable run to the FA Cup semi finals, where they were eventually beaten by Manchester City, who went on to lift the trophy.
How Southampton deal differs from Midnite’s earlier Championship sponsorships
It is worth noting, however, that the deal with Southampton is a training kit sponsorship, rather than a front-of-shirt deal which it has signed with the three clubs mentioned above.
Training kit sponsorships have been pinpointed as viable options for operators still looking to draw eyes via Premier League clubs, with the voluntary front-of-shirt ban on gambling operators set to come in from the start of next season.
Kaizen Gaming-owned Betano struck a trainingwear deal with Tottenham Hotspur just last week, while Betway are rumoured to be in talks with Manchester United for one of a similar nature.
It makes sense, given how prevalent training kits are on social media as well as television, and agreements like this could be valuable for operators.
“The training kit sponsorship is such good bang for the buck, because we see clips shared on social media all the time, we see YouTube content constantly evolving, we see content on various platforms, we see the manager press conference in the training kit quite often,” said Joe Streeter, iGaming Expert Editor on the iGaming Daily Podcast.
“The exposure [from a deal like this] is so good, and I think in the modern world, the way that content and sports content is consumed, there’s so much more to it, especially for such a big club, than just the game on the pitch.”
With Midnite looking to grow its presence in its home market, seeking out deals in the Championship seems a no brainer.
Its branding is already guaranteed to be in the eyeshot of those attending Wolves, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough matches, and now it will be exposed even further via Southampton’s channels.
With Sky’s EFL deal, over 1,000 games from 1,891 matches across the EFL, Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy will be broadcast live throughout the season, further increasing the brand’s chances of exposure.
Though Southampton missed out on promotion back to the Premier League after being disqualified from the playoffs in the 2025/26 campaign, Midnite will be hoping for the club to go one better in the 2026/27 season.
It will also mean that, as it stands, this sponsorship would be able to continue should Southampton gain promotion next season.
Greg Baker, Chief Revenue Officer of Southampton Football Club, commented: “We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Midnite after a successful first season together.
“They’ve consistently looked for new and engaging ways to reward our supporters, whether through unique matchday experiences, away travel or fan competitions, and we’re excited to see that continue this season.
“The launch of 2UP is another fantastic example of that commitment and we look forward to seeing Saints fans enjoying the campaign throughout the 2026/27 season.”