October 13: Uefa has appointed US agency Relevent Sports, owned by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, to sell the commercial rights to its men’s and women’s national team competitions from 2028 to 2036.
The deal covers Euro 2032 and Euro 2036, the Nations League and the European qualifiers for the Euros and the World Cup. Relevent replaces CAA Eleven, which has managed UEFA’s media rights, sponsorship and licensing since 2012. CAA Eleven remains in charge until Euro 2028.
Relevent’s subsidiary, Relevent Football Partners, already organizes UEFA’s men’s club competitions. Last year it won a six-season deal as the worldwide marketing and sales partner for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League from 2027-28 to 2032-33. It has now effectively secured the entire UEFA portfolio.
It’s a rise for a company that began by promoting the International Champions Cup, a pre-season tournament launched in the United States in 2013. It also took on the establishment along the way, including UEFA, which had objected to Relevent’s scheduling of LaLiga regular-season matches.
Relevent filed an antitrust lawsuit against US Soccer and FIFA in 2019 for the right to host official foreign league matches in the US. He cleared FIFA of the case in 2024.
UEFA said “the appointment follows an extensive assessment process during which Relevent demonstrated a strong understanding of UEFA’s strategic objectives and the evolving dynamics of the global sports and entertainment market.”
The agency, “which has a proven track record in representing UEFA club competitions”, presented a “compelling vision for the future commercial development of national team competitions”, UEFA said, “will seek to expand commercial opportunities and enhance the value it offers to partners through media, sponsorship and licensing programmes”.
Relevent says that UEFA’s club competitions have already surpassed the revenue of the previous cycle and are on track to exceed €5 billion annually. It has renewed many existing deals, but adapted rights sales, signing pan-regional deals in Latin America, the Nordic countries and parts of Europe, as well as opening the doors to streamers while retaining established broadcasters. It also introduced a simpler sponsorship structure that offered record category deals.
Zoran Laković, UEFA Assistant General Secretary for International Affairs, said: “We are delighted to join forces with Relevent and look forward to working closely with them for the benefit of European national team football. We are confident that with their experience and innovative ideas we will continue to develop the commercial program of UEFA national team competitions, which in turn will help us generate additional value for our member associations.”
UEFA said Relevent won the rights after a competitive bidding process, but no figure was given for the guarantee. CAA Eleven is estimated to have generated around €3 billion for the 2020 to 2028 rights cycle.
Relevent’s sales boost will benefit from new national team formats after Euro 2028, which will lend itself to the Champions League model, with more high-stakes matches on a regular schedule.
Boris Gartner, CEO of Relevent, said: “Representing the commercial rights to UEFA national team competitions, in addition to men’s club competitions, is a defining moment for our company and a responsibility we take very seriously. These are among the best-known and most followed sports properties around the world and reflect our continued commitment to investing in European football. They reflect the scale, quality and cultural importance of these competitions”.
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