SHANGHAI: UEFA has announced a new, historic partnership with Chinese payment and lifestyle platform Alipay.
The agreement, worth a reported 200 million euros ($225 million), runs till 2026 and will include all UEFA national team football competitions during the period, including Euro 2020 and 2024, as well as the UEFA Nations League finals.
The agreement means Alipay, which is operated by Ant Financial Services Group of Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Alibaba, will become UEFA’s official global payment partner, digital wallet provider and global FinTech partner, making the most of Alipay’s 900 million+ active users in China too.
As global leaders in the field of digital finance technology and mobile payment, Alipay and Ant Financial aim to bring digital innovation to football fans, enhance their onsite experience and deliver seamless payment and other services to fans in Europe and throughout the world. Alipay’s first four-year cycle as a UEFA national team competitions sponsor will involve a total of eight competitions, spanning 420 matches and having an estimated total live audience of 7.4 billion people.
“We are proud to announce this unique and groundbreaking partnership with Ant Financial and Alipay for UEFA’s national team competitions,” UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said.
“Alipay is at the forefront of digital payments and in association with its global partners, Alipay has unique connections with over 900 million users. We believe the partnership will further innovate the way in which UEFA engages with football fans around the world.”
“We are thrilled to work with UEFA to bridge the world through the common language of football. We will empower UEFA to engage with football fans around the world through digital platforms and help UEFA reach and interact with billions of potential audience in Asia,” Antl Financial CEO and executive chairman Eric Jing said.
“By partnering with UEFA, we hope to share the passion and happiness of football with more people across the world and bring them the benefits of digital life.”
Alipay becomes UEFA’s third national team sponsor, which will feature at the Euro 2020 championships, after Volkswagen and Booking.com signed deals until 2022.
