O2's England Women's Rugby Team Sponsorship Programme secures Sponsorship of the Year Trophy

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, MSQ Sport + Entertainment and Sid Lee Sport secure prestigious Agency of the Year awards

Talent-driven partnerships, social purpose and women’s sport were prominent themes on the night

O2’s England Women's Rugby Team Sponsorship Programme, entered by MSQ Sport + Entertainment, is the UK Sponsorship Awards’ Sponsorship of the Year for 2026. 

The team behind the sponsorship collected their well-deserved accolade in front of a capacity crowd of sponsorship industry stakeholders at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square.

The programme, which set out to boost the visibility of the Red Roses before their World Cup triumph, finished the night with three wins across two different campaigns. For judges, the partnership played a significant role in raising the profile of women’s rugby while also delivering increased brand affinity and commercial uplift for the brand.

Other multiple award winners on the night included Tommy Hilfiger, for its innovative partnership with F1: The Movie. The campaign won two categories and a highly commended, running O2 close for the overall award. ELEMIS was a double winner for its ground-breaking partnership with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, while Paddy Power took home a brace for its WDC 2026 activation. Co-op Live also won two awards in the Social Purpose and Venue categories.

In terms of Agency Awards, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment was named Large Agency of the Year while MSQ Sport & Entertainment took home the Medium to Small Agency plaudit. Sid Lee Sport, meanwhile, was named Breakthrough Agency of the Year.

The Rights Holder category saw wins for The Jockey Club and AEG Europe Global Partnerships. This year’s Champions of Sponsorship were Aviva’s Tom Whiteside and Extreme E’s Ali Russell.

Several of 2026’s segment included competitive shortlists, none more so than Talent which saw two categories for the first time. O2 won one and the other went to Lucozade. The Arts Sponsorship prize went to Southbank Centre & the LEGO Group.

2026’s cohort of entries saw some exceptionally strong regionally-focused entries, underlining the importance of connecting with local communities across the UK. London Sport and Saatchi & Saatchi won the PR category with More Ball Games, while Specsavers & The Scottish FA triumphed in the Football category. The Midlands and Manchester also featured prominently in shortlisted entries.

Aside from those already mentioned, Vodafone (Live Entertainment), Brita (Environment), Santander (Education), Metro Bank (Diversity), Pringles (Social Media), Nescafe (TV), M&S (Branded Content- Football) and Škoda (Innovation) also triumphed on the night. Live Nation & O2 won the Long-Term Sponsorship category while AEG Europe celebrated Isabella Perilla Espinosa winning the Barrie Gill Award for the Most Promising Young Sponsorship Executive.

As in previous years, UKSA was delighted to welcome new entrants to the event and podium. New winners included Deep Heat & Deep Freeze (Sport), Alienware (Esports), Capgemini (Technology), CLIF (Smaller Activation Budget) and Addleshaw Goddard (B2B). There were also win for Pan-Asian insurance group AIA and credit card giant American Express in the International segment of the event.

As always, the spread of finalists demonstrated how sponsorship is embraced by businesses across sectors. Automotive was well-represented, with Toyota winning the Grass Roots Sports category.

Other entries came from finance, FMCG, fashion, sportswear, luxury, law, health/wellbeing, consultancy, appliances, gaming, retail, logistics, telecoms, toys, personal care/cosmetics, hotels/travel and the drinks industry. Flying the flag for media companies was Disney, which won the education category; while Coca-Cola and Ear To The Ground’s win in the research category illustrated the value that big brands and agencies place on effective evaluation.

UK Sponsorship Awards organiser Rosemary Sarginson said: “Each year, the UK Sponsorship Awards set a new benchmark for creativity and effectiveness, and 2026 has been no exception. The calibre of this year’s winners - particularly those championing women’s sport, purpose-led partnerships and innovative audience engagement - reflects a sector that continues to evolve at pace. It was a privilege to bring together such an inspiring mix of industry leaders and emerging talent to celebrate the very best in sponsorship. Congratulations to all our winners and finalists, and we look forward to building on this momentum in 2027 and beyond.”

Read about all the winners in our Book of the Night here

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