赞助商曾经是当地的小企业（Arnold Laver

　　How Premier League shirt sponsors have changed

　　英超球衣赞助商的变化

　　From local timber merchant to multinational betting sites

　　从当地木材商到跨国博彩公司

　　Jul 24th 2021（196）

　　

　　1.EACH YEAR as the English Premier League prepares for kick-off, super-fans wait to see what their heroes will be wearing on the pitch. This year Manchester United stitched the words “youth, courage and success” inside players’ collars. Other changes have less high-minded motives: sponsorship. Once small and local (Arnold Laver, a timber merchant, sponsored Sheffield United from 1985 to 1995), now sponsors are multinationals. In the late 1990s tech and telecoms companies predominated; then financial and insurance firms muscled in. Since 2005, when gambling laws were liberalised, betting firms have worked their way up the league. This season they sponsor 45% of teams.

　　每年英超联赛为开球做准备时，超级球迷们都等着看他们的英雄们在球场上会穿什么。今年曼联在球员的衣领里缝上了“年轻、勇气和成功”的字样。其他的变化却有着不那么高尚的动机：赞助。赞助商曾经是当地的小企业（Arnold Laver，一个木材商人，从1985年到1995年赞助谢菲尔德联队），现在的赞助商则是跨国大公司。上世纪90年代末，科技和电信公司占主导地位；随后，金融和保险公司纷纷介入。自2005年博彩法放开以来，博彩公司的排名一直在上升。本赛季他们赞助了45%的球队。

　　2.Campaigners worry that the league’s global reach is feeding gambling addiction, not just in Britain but worldwide. A House of Lords report has recommended banning betting firms from shirts; the government’s response is due later this year. In the meantime sponsorship means temptation, says James Grimes, a campaigner and recovering addict. “I still have to fight the 600 mentions of the word ‘bet’ every game.”

　　运动人士担心，英超联赛的全球影响力正在助长赌博成瘾，不仅是在英国，而且是在全世界。上议院的一份报告建议禁止博彩公司赞助球衣；政府将于今年晚些时候作出回应。同时，赞助意味着诱惑，运动领导家和戒毒者詹姆斯·格里姆斯说：“我仍然要与每场比赛提到600次的‘打赌’一词作斗争。”