Athletic Brewing Co scores soccer alcohol-free beer tie-up

English Premier League’s Arsenal Football Club has named the US non-alcoholic brewery Athletic Brewing Co as its first official non-alcoholic beer partner.

The brewery’s 0.5% ABV Run Wild IPA will be served at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in London for all men’s and women’s matches. Athletic will also invest in a marketing campaign featuring the team’s players and stage promotions such as in-stadium sampling, social media giveaways and VIP experiences for supporters.

The brewer highlighted the propitious timing of the deal citing Kantar Insights data that indicated sales of alcohol-free beer in the UK had surged 38% on matchdays this summer.

“Our international footprint is expanding, and alcohol moderation is sweeping the globe, specifically among the next generation of consumers,” said Athletic’s founder & CEO, Bill Shufelt. “This partnership represents an exciting milestone in our journey to revolutionise the way the world drinks.”

Athletic’s beers are available in the UK on-premise at around 230 Mitchell & Butlers locations, including the All Bar One, Nicholson’s and Castle Pub chains.

The US Brewing Association ranks Athletic as the tenth-largest craft brewer in the country and the 20^th-largest overall.

Arsenal’s only alcoholic drinks partner is the London-based Camden Town Brewery.

In June this year, there was another major English football sponsorship deal when the EPL announced Diageo’s Guinness would be the competition’s main sponsor over the next four years, replacing Budweiser.