December 10 – Aston Villa have strengthened the charitable arm of the club with a new multi-year partnership that will see Eleven Sports Media become an official partner of the Aston Villa Foundation, delivering what the club describes as a “significant seven-figure investment” into its community operations.
The agreement bolsters a Foundation that has been central to Villa’s identity for more than three decades, running more than 40 programmes across Birmingham and working with over 30,000 children and young adults each year. Its work spans education, employment, health and wellbeing.
Eleven will also roll out its Foundation Community Partnership at Villa Park. The initiative is designed to give small and medium-sized businesses across the West Midlands access to matchday visibility, exclusive networking events, tailored marketing support and engagement with the club’s wider fanbase.
Branding for Community Partners will feature on LED boards at both men’s and women’s fixtures, offering local companies a platform in one of English football’s most historic stadiums. Eleven will additionally supply Villa Park with its StatTV and StadiumTV platforms, providing in-bowl content, social updates and real-time data to enhance the match day experience.
The partnership is positioned as a dual investment: supporting Villa’s community delivery while creating commercial opportunities for regional businesses. Funding from the programme will help reinforce Foundation initiatives such as Villa Vision – which provides free eye tests and glasses to schoolchildren – the Villa Catering Club, which develops skills and pathways into hospitality work, and Everybody’s Game, a scheme promoting inclusion for British South Asian communities, women and girls.
Matt Cairns, Founder and CEO of Eleven Sports Media, said: “We’re proud to partner with Aston Villa and invest in the incredible work of the Aston Villa Foundation. For over three decades, the Foundation has been a catalyst for change at the heart of the local community, and this partnership allows us to help grow that legacy even further.
“It will offer local businesses a unique opportunity to align with Aston Villa’s community values while gaining visibility at one of the Premier League’s most renowned venues, creating a blueprint for how sport and business can work together to deliver lasting social impact.”
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]