Match of the Pay: Mastercard Teams Up With ‘Biggest Name’ in Football to Tackle Pain of Online Payments

Mastercard is sponsoring a Welsh football team with the biggest (or longest) name in the beautiful game, to help shoppers kick-off a quicker, easier and more secure way to shop online. Mastercard Llanfairpwll Click to Pay collaboration brings the global payments brand to the heart of Welsh football.

This season, Mastercard will become official shirt sponsor of North Wales Coast West Division One side CPD Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch FC, having signed up the non-league team on a three-year deal. At 58 letters, the 126-year-old team, which plays in the fifth tier of the Welsh league, has the longest club name in world football.

The sponsorship strengthens Mastercard’s connection with the Llanfairpwll… community. In February, the village on the Welsh island of Anglesey was chosen by Mastercard, alongside seven of Europe’s longest-named places, to become pioneers of Click to Pay, a new one-click payment technology removing the need to enter personal details like long card numbers when shopping online.

Llanfairpwll’s new home, away and keeper kits are an all-Welsh affair, designed and created in neighbouring Bangor by football shirt specialist Andrew Maclean and manufacturer Teejac Sports.

Andrew said the striking blue-and-black striped home design is “part-inspired by Barcelona, as well as by the windowsat the Llanfairpwll railway station, one of the town’s most popular attractions.

The shirt, which has a yellow trim, carries all the letters of the town name, along with the club badge, Welsh dragon and Mastercard and Click to Pay logos. The white away shirt also features the window motif, along with the burgundy that matches the colour of the railway station’s iconic sign. 

Simon Forbes, Division President, UK and Ireland, Mastercard, comments: “Football clubs are the beating heart of communities across the country, and we’re proud to announce this long-term partnership, cementing our links with Llanfairpwll. This expanded collaboration reflects our commitment to backing grassroots football and local businesses and driving forward technology that helps support everyday transactions across small towns and villages as well as global cities.”

Click to Pay, a faster, simpler and more secure way to buy online, is designed to tackle consumers’ biggest irritations, including the time it takes to checkout online and security concerns, such as having to share card numbers and personal details with retailers. The technology, which is rolling out across the continent, is part of Mastercard’s plan to end manual card entry by 2030.

To mark the team sponsorship and the launch of Click to Pay in Llanfairpwll, Mastercard will host an event at their first home game of the season vs Llangoed for residents and local businesses. Visitors to the Maes Eilian ground on Bank Holiday Monday, August 25, will be able to see the kit in action, sign up for the Click to Pay technology with partner the Co-op, and receive exclusive club merchandise. There will also be free matchday food, Co-op pies courtesy of a Mastercard ‘Click to Pay’ pie van.

Simon Forbes continues: “Click to Pay is designed to make life easier for everyone – from fans buying tickets and merchandise to local businesses processing transactions quickly and securely. We’re looking forward to cheering on Llanfairpwll FC this season and showing residents and local retailers a simpler, faster and more secure way to pay online.”

North Wales has proved to be an unlikely hotspot for football investment in recent years. Since 2021, Wrexham AFC has had Hollywood owners with a documentary series, Welcome to Wrexham, created to follow the non-league club’s fortunes. This season they will play in the Championship, having become the first club in Football League history to win three consecutive promotions.

Last month, fellow Championship side Swansea City also announced A-list investment as the side’s US owners look to build the club’s reputation on the world stage.

Samantha Jones-Smith, Llanfairpwll FC chairman, comments: “You only have to look down the road at Wrexham to see how football partnerships can inspire success on the pitch and a huge feel-good factor off it.

“This isn’t just another sponsorship deal for our club – it’s a collaboration that builds on the strong relationship Mastercard has forged with the Llanfairpwll community throughout the year. They’re not just putting their name on our shirts; they’re investing in our future, our facilities, and most importantly, our supporters. We’re looking forward to celebrating before our first home game of the season and getting the opportunity to try out the technology as we kick-off with Click to Pay together.”