Friend MTS, the content security firm, has extended its partnership with European soccer's governing body UEFA to provide anti-piracy services for its major club and international competitions.
Under the renewed agreement, Friend MTS will continue providing various services for combatting content piracy, including global monitoring and enforcement services, and preserving the value of its media rights around the world, including monitoring and enforcement.
The services include monitoring and enforcement against internet piracy (excluding social media and messaging apps which are addressed separately), dynamic delivery server blocking, and payment disruption of illegal IPTV services in addition to the removal of unauthorised apps from stores and de-listing infringing links to UEFA content from search engines.
Friend MTS did not name the specific competitions, but UEFA's major continental club competitions are the men’s top-tier Champions League, second-tier Europa League, and third-tier Europa Conference League, and the Women's Champions League.
Its major continental national team competitions are the men’s European Championship and the Women's Championship equivalent.
UEFA first partnered with Friend MTS in 2022.
Shane McCarthy, CEO at Friend MTS, said: “UEFA has been a trailblazer in protecting the game with effective anti-piracy and cybersecurity techniques as demonstrated by the success of the recent UEFA Euro 2024 campaign. As the new football season gets underway, we are continuing to work together to deploy and evolve our anti-piracy solutions and insights.”
The content security firm also works with the English top-tier Premier League, the Italian Serie A, and pay-TV broadcaster TNT Sports Chile, among others.
Meanwhile, UEFA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FIFPro Europe, the continental arm of the international soccer players’ union, around player representation and cooperation in the governance of European soccer.
Through the new partnership, FIFPRO Europe will for the first time take a seat within UEFA’s governance structures and, from May 2025, will be represented on the UEFA Executive Committee, initially in an advisory capacity.
The two parties claim the agreement will “help ensure that players’ voices are directly heard at European football’s highest decision-making table, alongside those of national associations, leagues and clubs.”
The MoU will also place a significant focus on women’s soccer, with the growth and sustainability of the women’s game “positioned as top priorities.”
The organisations also stated that key decisions impacting player employment conditions or players’ workload in UEFA competitions will now be made only after extensive dialogue between the two.
Further areas of cooperation include exploring joint commercial opportunities related to player data and intellectual property rights.
UEFA will additionally host the inaugural edition of the UEFA Professional Players Advisory Forum next month, a new player-specific platform for players, national unions and FIFPRO Europe representatives to engage directly with UEFA on key issues.
This forum will complement the annual UEFA Convention on the Future of European Football, of which the next edition will take place on 4 and 5 December in Brussels.
FIFPRO Europe president David Terrier stated: “This agreement is a hugely positive milestone for professional players across Europe. With player representation now anchored at UEFA’s highest level, we are securing a stronger voice for players where it matters most.
“Our ongoing dialogue with UEFA is already yielding positive results, and this MoU will only strengthen our ability to shape a framework that will advance player welfare and ensure a healthier and more sustainable future for football, where the needs and rights of players shall always be at the forefront, both on and off the pitch.”
FIFPRO recently joined forces with Spain's LaLiga and the European Leagues body to file a formal complaint against FIFA over its imposition on all other soccer properties and organisations of the global match calendar.
In the complaint, which was submitted to the European Commission, the trio accused FIFA of “abusive and anti-competitive” conduct.
The complaint alleges that FIFA being the sole arbiter of decisions regarding the match calendar is an abuse of its dominant position, and that this situation violates European competition law.
