September 7: Hyundai has signed a five-year global partnership with the UEFA Champions League, taking over the competition’s automotive category from the 2026/27 season to the 2030/31 season.
The deal, which also covers the UEFA Super Cup, Youth League and Futsal Champions League, starts immediately, with Hyundai joining for the final season of the current business cycle before continuing with the next. No value disclosed.
The automotive position has been vacant since 2021. Nissan previously held the category from 2014 until the end of the 2020/21 cycle, while UEFA was still publicly marketing an automotive package when selling sponsorship rights for 2024-27.
Hyundai’s sign-up represents another win for UC3, the joint venture between UEFA and European football clubs created to manage UEFA’s club competition rights, and Relevent, to which UC3 awarded global marketing and sales rights for the next cycle.
Guy-Laurent Epstein, Co-Managing Director of UC3, said: “We are delighted to welcome Hyundai as an official partner of the UEFA Champions League. Hyundai has a proud history of supporting football at the highest level and a clear belief in its power to bring people together. We look forward to building a partnership that will realize this shared ambition for fans for years.”
The deal adds Europe’s biggest club competition to Hyundai’s already significant football portfolio – having worked with FIFA since 1999 and, together with Kia, extending that relationship to 2030 in 2023.
José Muñoz, Chairman and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, said: “Football has been part of Hyundai for almost 30 years. It brings people together like nothing else, across languages, borders and generations. The UEFA Champions League is the best club football in the world, played every week in front of the most passionate fans in Europe.
“The UEFA Champions League is an ideal platform to showcase our well-designed vehicles with features that fans love. I’m from Madrid, so I’ve watched this competition all my life. Personally, I’m excited to engage with fans from all over Europe. It’s a great time to celebrate the beautiful game with Hyundai.”
The new UEFA Champions League season kicks off tomorrow evening.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)