I started following Premier League soccer in 1997; back then, known as the FA Carling Premiership.
A few years later, beer made way for banking and Barclays took over as the league’s title sponsor. For the next several seasons, Premier League soccer played under a series of monikers: FA Barclaycard Premiership, Barclays Premier League, FA Barclays Premiership.
The name Barclays has become so synonymous with Premier League soccer over the last 15 years that #BPL has become America’s most often used hashtag when referencing England’s top flight league.
Last summer, The Premier League announced it would move forward with no title sponsor following the 2015/2016 season. “From next season we will move away from title sponsorship and the competition will be known simply as the Premier League, a decision which provided the opportunity to consider how we wanted to present ourselves as an organization and competition,” said Premier League managing director, Richard Masters.
Yesterday, they unveiled the league’s new visual identity. I’m happy that creative shop DesignStudio retained the iconic crowned lion in their work and am interested to see how fans will take to this new branding as the weeks and months go on.