UEFA has announced that long-term partner Mastercard, the international credit card giant, has renewed its sponsorship of the top-tier UEFA Champions League (UCL) for the 2024-27 commercial cycle.
The agreement, which follows European soccer body UEFA and Mastercard reaching 30 years of partnership, also includes sponsorship rights for the UEFA Super Cup annual one-off match in 2024, 2025, and 2026. These come in addition to the 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27 UCL seasons.
The previous tie-up between Mastercard and UEFA was struck in October 2020 and covered the 2021-24 UCL cycle. GlobalData has estimated the value of this deal as being worth just over $170 million over the three seasons.
As part of the new tie-up, Mastercard cardholders will be able to enter competitions to win fan experiences, while Mastercard will also continue to offer children the opportunity to become player mascots, and in addition, continue its collaboration with the UEFA Foundation for Children on various initiatives.
Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA marketing director, has said: "We're delighted to extend our partnership with Mastercard until 2027. For over three decades, Mastercard has been an unwavering supporter of the UEFA Champions League, bringing fans and cardholders priceless moments and unparalleled experiences.
“Entering this new era of UEFA men's club competitions, we're excited to continue this extraordinary journey together, one of the longest-standing partnerships in world football."
Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer of Mastercard, added: “As a proud sponsor of the UEFA Champions League for 30 years, we have helped create incredible experiences on and off the pitch and witnessed the intense passion that fans have for this competition.
The deal follows Heineken, Just Eat Takeaway.com, and Pepsi committing as UCL sponsors for the 2024–27 period.
The sales of all UEFA club competition sponsorship and media rights are being carried out by Team Marketing, UEFA's partnership agency for these competitions.
In late May, UEFA invited bids covering the mobile handset category of its 2024-27 club competitions sponsorship packages, with a deadline of May 31.
