Following a call for tenders conducted in conjunction with the powerful European Club Association (ECA), the UEFA Executive Committee has appointed two intermediaries for the sale of the worldwide rights to its men's club competitions for the 2024-2027 cycle : sports marketing agency TEAM Marketing, which already collaborated with UEFA, has been selected as "global selling partner for commercial rights", while newcomer Relevent Sports will be responsible for selling media rights on the United States market.

The cumulative total of 15 billion euros corresponds to "the global amount for three seasons 2024-2027", one of these sources told AFP, i.e. 5 billion euros per year.

By way of comparison, UEFA had collected 3.2 billion euros in revenue for its club competitions in 2018-2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

These increased revenues should enable UEFA to ward off the specter of the Super League, a private European competition launched in April 2021 by twelve dissident clubs wishing to generate more revenue, but quickly aborted, even if three clubs (Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Juventus Turin) continue to lead the sling in the courts.

According to a UEFA press release issued on Monday, the success of the call for tenders proves that the new format of the Champions League, which should expand the flagship event of European football in 2024 from 32 to 36 clubs and offer more of group matches (10 against 6 currently), "contains significant commercial possibilities".

"We are delighted that our tender has generated such interest (...) and that the agreements reached with TEAM Marketing and Relevent Sports Group can generate more revenue for clubs in Europe, especially in this period. crucial where the need for financial stability is felt", reacted Aleksander Ceferin, president of UEFA, quoted in the press release.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin on his arrival at the European Cup draw ceremony in Istanbul on August 26, 2021 OZAN KOSE AFP/Archives

UEFA organizes, in addition to the lucrative Champions League (C1), the Europa League (C3), the second European cup, and the Conference Europa League (C4), at the third European level, as well as the European Super Cup, opposing the winner of the C1 to that of the C3, and the Youth League, the European Cup for the under-19s.

© 2022 AFP