Everton Partners with Christopher Ward for Historic Training Kit Deal

Everton’s long-running relationship with Christopher Ward has taken a decisive step up, with the club naming the British watchmaker as their first official training kit partner in a landmark multi-year agreement.

What began as a timing partnership has steadily grown into one of the most visible commercial alliances around the club. Christopher Ward first appeared as Everton’s official global timing partner, then on the shirt sleeve, then as a founding partner of Hill Dickinson Stadium. Now, the brand moves directly into the heart of the football operation: the training ground.

Brand on the training pitch

From the 2026/27 season, Christopher Ward’s logo will be stamped across the training wear of both the men’s and women’s first teams. Players and staff will carry the branding every day in the environment where tactics are drilled, fitness is built and seasons are shaped.

The deal stretches well beyond the training pitches. The watchmaker will gain prominent exposure across Everton’s matchday and digital ecosystem, from LED boards and in-stadium signage at Hill Dickinson Stadium and Goodison Park to media backdrops and the club’s social channels.

The partnership then widens again in 2027/28. At that point, Christopher Ward branding will extend to the Under-21s, Under-18s and Academy training kit, creating a single, continuous thread from youth ranks to senior sides. Supporters will see the same identity on replica training items in the club shop, with the brand locked into the visual fabric of Everton’s daily work.

A commercial strategy built on detail

Everton have been keen to frame the deal as part of a broader, deliberate commercial build-out around their new stadium era. The club has already teamed up with CMC Markets as main shirt sponsor and Stake as official sleeve partner, and now adds a training kit partner to that portfolio.

The relationship with Christopher Ward has become a showcase for that strategy. Last season saw the opening of 53° North at Hill Dickinson Stadium – billed as the world’s first premium watch showroom inside a sporting venue. For Everton, it is a statement that the club wants its new home to function as more than a matchday arena. For Christopher Ward, it is a stage, set right in the path of match-going fans.

That showroom has been used to bring supporters closer to the intricacies of mechanical watchmaking – craft, precision, design – themes the club and brand repeatedly link to elite performance on the pitch.

Andrew Middleton, Everton’s president of business operations, underlined the significance of the latest step, describing Christopher Ward as “bold, innovative and committed” and calling the training kit deal “a significant step” that places the brand “directly within the environment where our teams prepare, develop and strive for excellence every day.”

Timepieces rooted in Everton history

The partnership has never been limited to logos and backdrops. Christopher Ward has already produced three Everton-inspired watches that lean heavily into the club’s heritage.

The Dixie Dean is a 60-piece limited edition, a nod to one of football’s most prolific goalscorers and one of Everton’s defining icons. The Goodison model goes even deeper into the club’s physical history, with a caseback crafted from the famous 1930s turnstiles at Goodison Park. The Goodison 3.1 commemorates the thunderous 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the 1985 European Cup-Winners’ Cup semi-final second leg, one of the club’s most celebrated European nights.

Each piece ties the club’s past to the brand’s core message of precision and detail, turning Everton’s story into something you can wear on your wrist.

Alignment of values

For Christopher Ward, the move into training kit territory is presented as a natural progression rather than a leap. CEO and co-founder Mike France spoke of a shared belief that “excellence is built on the smallest details – whether in the precision of a mechanical watch or the marginal gains that define elite football.”

He framed the new agreement as embedding the brand “even further into the club – in the daily environment where performance is really shaped, behind the scenes on the training ground,” drawing a direct line between the hidden discipline of watchmaking and the unseen grind of training.

Everton, for their part, point to Christopher Ward’s consistent involvement across the club: as a founding partner of Hill Dickinson Stadium, the driving force behind 53° North, and a supporter of both Everton Women and Everton in the Community. The club argues this is a partner that has taken the time to understand its fanbase and its ambitions, not simply rented space on a shirt.

The result is a deal that does more than fill another sponsorship category. As Everton prepare to move fully into their new stadium era and push the commercial side of the club to match their on-pitch aspirations, they have chosen a partner whose business is built on timing.

Now the question is whether that timing helps Everton turn a growing commercial platform into sustained success on the field.