Arsenal Land HR Sponsorship Deal | Chelsea Also Held Discussions

Arsenal have confirmed that they have agreed a multi-year deal with Deel to become their official HR partner. The timing of it is significant, given Arsenal are also searching for a new shirt sleeve sponsor.

The Gunners’ existing deal with Visit Rwanda as their shirt sleeve sponsor expires at the end of the season. It has been also suggested that Deel is now leading the race to replace Visit Rwanda from the start of the 2026/27 campaign.

What is Deel?

Deel, which is a recognised platform, has partnered with more than 30,000 companies worldwide to help them expand globally, facilitating HR, payroll, and compliance needs. Founded by Alex Bouaziz (CEO) and Shuo Wang, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) in 2019, the pair set up the company to simplify the process of growing business teams.

Deemed a leader in the global HR space, Deel runs payrolls in more than 130 countries. Moreover, Deel is HMRC-certified, meaning they play a key role in ensuring businesses adhere to UK tax and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules.

How will Deel and Arsenal work together?

The primary focus of Arsenal’s relationship with Deel will be to streamline their workforce and operations. Away from the business element, Deel will get plenty of exposure.

Indeed, Deel’s branding will feature across the Emirates Stadium for all of Arsenal’s home games on the advertising hoardings. Deel will also appear across all of the club’s digital channels, including the Women’s Super League, the FA Cup, and the League Cup to enhance the matchday experience for Gunners supporters.

Venturing into football for the first time

The partnership with Arsenal represents a bold new era for Deel, who will not only be making their first foray into football, but it will also be their first major venture into sport more generally.

Reports had previously emerged that Deel had held talks with Chelsea about becoming their front-of-shirt sleeve sponsor. However, it is thought the Blues were priced out of a deal, and although they made FPT, a Vietnamese-based tech firm, their shirt sleeve sponsor, nothing has been decided about their next front-of-shirt sponsor.

Discussing the importance of the Arsenal arrangement, Deel’s CEO said:

“Arsenal is one of the most iconic clubs in world sport, followed by millions and competing at the highest level, which makes this partnership a natural fit with our global ambition.

“We are proud to welcome Arsenal as a Deel customer and support the club’s HR operations. This partnership is a milestone for us and places Deel at the heart of football, connecting our platform with supporters and professionals in every corner of the world.”

Matching ambitions

Although the main focus of the partnership is business-related, the Gunners feel that Deel matches what the club are trying to achieve on and off the pitch. That was the tone struck by Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer, Julian Slot.

In a club statement, he said:

“We’re delighted to welcome Deel to our Arsenal family - a brilliant and innovative team who will bring so much to what we’re trying to achieve at our club.

“Their global platform matches the scale of our ambition and operations, and their investment will continue to power our growth. We’re looking forward to many successful seasons together.”