Vodafone has significantly expanded its commercial relationship with European soccer's governing body UEFA, across both men's and women's top-tier competitions run by the body.
The leading telecoms operator has become a major partner of the overall UEFA women's soccer commercial program, in a deal which covers the 2029 Women's European Championships national team tournament (for which a host nation will be appointed in December) as well as the next five editions of the UEFA Women's Champions League.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Vodafone becomes the official telecommunications partner for these properties, as well as for the Women's Nations League, the Women's Futsal Euros in 2027, the qualifiers for the Women's Euros, and the Women's Under-19 and Under-17 Euros.
In taking up this women's soccer position with UEFA for the 2025-30 cycle, Vodafone joins Amazon (which extended its own deal in late July) and PepsiCo (through an April agreement).
In addition to this, Vodafone has extended its tie-up with UEFA, covering the men's Champions League, for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.
With the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League starting on September 16 (next Tuesday), Vodafone will launch a new 'Champions Travel eSIM', which offers customers the chance to win free match tickets via draws.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataGuy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director at UEFA, has now said: "We are delighted to welcome Vodafone as a sponsor of UEFA Women’s Football and a UEFA Champions League licensee. Vodafone’s strong track record in supporting sport, coupled with their commitment to innovation and inclusion, aligns seamlessly with our ambition to grow the game at every level."
Ahmed Essam, Vodafone's chief executive of European markets, added: "It is great to once again be associated with European football. We are excited to sponsor women’s football, which is one of the fastest-growing sports globally."
In terms of Vodafone's commercial activity across soccer, in late May, a main shirt sponsorship with German heavyweights Borussia Dortmund was announced.
The brand is now serving as the principal partner of the Bundesliga side, with the tie-up running through the 2029-30 campaign.
Elsewhere at UEFA, meanwhile, the host cities for the 2026-27 men's and women's Champions League have been unveiled.
Following a UEFA executive committee meeting in Tirana, Albania, the men's final next season has been awarded to Madrid's Estadio Metropolitano, while the women's equivalent game will take place at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland.
Meanwhile, the UEFA Super Cup in 2026 will be staged in Salzburg, Austria.
The Metropolitano, home to Spanish giants Atletico Madrid since 2017, has already hosted one men's Champions League final, in 2019 (in which Liverpool beat fellow English side Tottenham Hotspur). It has a capacity of just over 70,000 for soccer matches.
Outside of UEFA competitions, its naming rights partner is Riyadh Air.
Warsaw's National Stadium, meanwhile, had construction completed in 2011 (ahead of the men's Euro 2012), and since then has hosted the final of the men's second-tier UEFA Europa League in 2015, as well as the Super Cup in 2024.
It put on three Euro 2012 fixtures, all featuring Poland, and since then has featured the majority of the country's men's national team's games.
Volleyball and speedway have also taken place there previously.
The 2025-26 Champions League finals will take place in Budapest, Hungary (men's), and Oslo, Norway (women's), respectively.
