Preston North End (PNE) have just announced that they will no longer have betting companies on their shirts, starting from the 21-22 season – setting a pertinent example for all other EFL clubs.

32Red has been the sponsor for PNE's kit since the 2018-19 season, but the club have recognised the "grave misgivings" brought about by betting companies on their young, impressionable fanbase. According to the club, finding a good sponsor that both cooperates and generates good revenues is a difficult task in 2021 – but the step to depart from using a betting company undoubtedly marks a step in the right direction.

27 of England’s top 44 clubs have a betting company on their shirt at the beginning of the 2020-21 season, ensuring that gambling was an ever-present feature that was creating an incredibly toxic influence off the pitch – particularly for the next generation of fans across the country.

The new sponsor will be a "local business", with Preston's Chairman Peter Ridsdale saying the club will provide a full announcement in few weeks time in the lead up to the kit launch in July.

Speaking on the club's official website, Ridsdale outlined the club's position on sponsorship: "Finding good sponsors that work with us and also pay competitive monies is difficult. Some years ago many football clubs were sponsored by alcohol companies and then that sector was prohibited. This gap was taken up by betting companies. Indeed if you take away front of shirt sponsors who are directly connected to their clubs owners, by far the greatest balance of front of shirt sponsors in the top two divisions are betting companies.

We have been grateful for the income received from the betting sector and for the last four years from 32Red. We do however recognise that many of our supporters have grave misgivings in such relationships and of course it means that replica shirts for our supporters aged under 18 cannot be the same as the ones being worn by our first team squad.

In thanking 32Red and all other sponsors in recent years, I am able to confirm that we will be announcing in the coming weeks a new front of shirt sponsorship deal with a local non-betting partner that we are absolutely delighted with and we believe that our supporters will be too. This will give us plenty of time to get the new logos onto the 2021/22 kit in time for launch in July."