Watches and football: A stylish interplay between sport and luxury

At first glance luxury watches and the world's most popular sport can seem to belong to separate worlds. But when you look closer we see that the collaboration between watch brands and the football world is getting ever stronger in recent years. Today the ties between the watch world and football are stronger than ever, with partnerships that stretch from World Cup finals to star players' private collections. In this article we take a look at a few examples of the relationship between watches and football. 

Text: Andreas Johansson

Unlike racing, sailing and aviation, where timekeeping is a natural and practical part of the sport, it took a long time before football and the watch industry found each other. During the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s watch brands began to realise the enormous global reach that football offered. Where motorsport addressed an exclusive circle, football had the potential to make luxury watches aspirational and attractive to a mass audience. By associating themselves with the biggest players and tournaments the brands could reach billions of people the world over.

Hublot 

Hublot is the brand that right now is most associated with football. In 2010 Hublot took the big step into the football world when it became official timekeeper for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. It was the first time a luxury watch brand had such a prominent role within world football. Since then Hublot has been there at every World Cup, from Brazil 2014 to Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 and their logo has been seen on everything from match clocks and fourth official boards to stadium advertising and player benches. Besides the exposure Hublot created special editions such as the Big Bang Unico FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, where the watch could show match results and live statistics. On the European scene Hublot has also been official timekeeper for UEFA Euro 2016, 2020 and 2024. During the Euros 2024 in Germany their presence was seen everywhere: on the referee boards, advertising boards and in the player tunnels and ahead of this year's women's Euros Hublot showed off a series of different collaborations with players different players. Hublot's CEO, Julien Tornare, writes the following ahead of this year's tournament: 

As the first luxury Swiss watch in football, it’s with a heady mix of pride and excitement that Hublot takes on the role of Official Timekeeper at UEFA Women’s EURO 2025™. Summer football tournaments are always a joy, but this one feels special. Why? Partly because it’s hosted here in our home country of Switzerland, and partly because we’re so thrilled to be working with two of the greatest players ever to the grace the beautiful game of football in Ada and Aitana, who we welcome into the Hublot family with enormous gratitude. There is so much we can do together to promote not just the women’s game, but also to achieve great things off the pitch. The fusion of Hublot and football has huge power and together we can reach new heights, making a positive, lasting impact on people’s lives all over the world. On behalf of everyone here at Hublot, it’s my pleasure to wish the players, coaches and fans of all 16 countries taking part the very best of luck this summer. We look forward to hosting you in beautiful Switzerland and we can’t wait to set the clock running on the tournament. Here’s to a summer festival of fantastic football!”

Hublot has really invested hard in football with several collaborations with among others the Swiss national team, the Premier League and the UEFA Super Cup. That Hublot has marked itself out as a sponsor within football is noticeable not least from the comment from the Premier League's Chief Executive, Richard Masters: 

We are delighted to welcome Hublot as the Premier League’s Official Timekeeper. Hublot bring a wealth of experience in sports timekeeping, particularly in football, and are renowned for being at the forefront of innovation. We look forward to working closely together and developing the partnership to bring exciting matchday and digital activations to fans around the world.

Hublot also has a number of current stars as ambassadors for the brand, among others Kylian Mbappé, Ada Hegerberg and Aitana Bonmatí. In addition they have collaborations with former football players such as Luis Figo, Alex Morgan, Didier Deschamps and David Trezeguet. With all these collaborations Hublot is just as important for football as Rolex is for tennis.

Tudor 

David Beckham has through his career gone from a world-class footballer to a global style icon, entrepreneur and charity figure. His influence stretches far beyond the football pitch and into fashion, culture and lifestyle. When Tudor, the Swiss watch manufacturer with roots in the Rolex family, was looking for an ambassador for its campaign “Born to Dare” the choice of Beckham was as obvious as it was strategically smart. Since the collaboration began in 2017 Beckham has become the face of a new era for Tudor an era where tradition meets modern adventurousness, and where watches do not only measure time, but also courage and character. Tudor's collaboration with Beckham also stretches to his current project, the football team Inter Miami where Tudor is ”offical time keepers” and a tribute to the team in the form of a pink (Inter Miami's colour) Black Bay Chrono. 

Even if Tudor's connection to football is mainly known for the collaboration with David Beckham, Tudor has made a special watch for the football team Inter Milan to celebrate the 20th title in Serie A a blue Black Bay 58 that has the Inter logo and two stars on the dial. 

Jacob & Co

When you think of exclusive luxury watches many associate Swiss brands with discreet elegance. But New York-based Jacob & Co has gone in the opposite direction. With their bold, diamond-strewn and technically advanced watches Jacob & Co has become a favourite brand for artists, entrepreneurs and football stars. Where other watch manufacturers focus on sporty performance or classic elegance, Jacob & Co has chosen to embrace football's most glamorous and individual profiles. Here it is not about being discreet but about being seen.

Cristiano Ronaldo is without doubt Jacob & Co's most high-profile ambassador within the football world. Ronaldo has his own collaboration with Jacob & Co. he has launched several models in collaboration with the brand, among others the CR7 Epic X Chrono, a collection where his shirt number, signature and silhouette are engraved.

Even if Ronaldo fronts Jacob & Co the most, his rival Lionel Messi has also had a collaboration with the brand. Messi has had influence on the design of the watch ” Epic X Chrono “Messi”, in the design several things can be seen that are connected to the Argentinian footballer among other things the number 10 (Messi's favourite number) is marked in red. 

Jacob & Co has also had collaborations with different clubs among others Manchester City and FC Barcelona where special editions have been produced in limited editions.

It is easy to think that watch brands invest in football purely for visibility, but it is also about reaching a younger and more global target group, especially in Asia and the Middle East. The watch brands' presence in football is more than marketing it is an interplay between technology, passion and global culture. The last decade's focus on social media and lifestyle has given watches ever greater space and that is noticeable not least among footballers. Probably we have only seen the beginning of a bigger industry where footballers at ever earlier stages of their career are picked up by watch brands.

A Swedish example of this is when the Swedish watch brand Sjöö-Sandström made the young Swedish talent Lucas Bergvall its ambassador. A smart move, sure in practice the players don't wear the watches during a match, but it is the time off the pitch at press conferences, on social media and at galas where they wear their exclusive movements and that is just as important in the marketing.