Championship: Aston Villa FC and Under Armour to end their partnership after 2017-18 season

"Aston Villa FC can confirm that the club and its technical partner, Under Armour, have mutually decided to end their relationship (at the end of the 2017-18 season)," said the Sky Bet Championship club on 06/04/2018.

Under Armour became the equipment supplier of Aston Villa FC for five seasons (2016-2021), on 01/07/2016. The annual amount was estimated at between £4m and £5m per season (between €4.6m and €5.7m as of 20/04/2018).

No reason has been officially given for the early termination of this partnership. Under Armour recorded a net loss of $48.3m (-€40.2m on 31/12/2017) in 2017, while the group had achieved a record net profit of $257m (+€244.1m on 31/12/2016) one year earlier. This net loss is a first for the American equipment manufacturer since its IPO and the publication of its accounts, on 18/11/2005 (oldest published accounting data: 2003).

Under Armour's marketing expenses reached $565.1m in 2017 (€470.7m), up 18.3% from 2016 ($477.5m/€453.1m). This represented 11.4% of the 2017 turnover of the US brand  ($4,976.5m/€4.14bn). Financial analysts, such as Jim Duffy at…