PepsiCo, the soft drinks and snack foods company, looks set to retain its position as a commercial partner of men's club competitions run by European soccer's governing body UEFA.
An exclusive negotiating period for rights to those properties – across the 2027 to 2033 cycle – has now been unveiled by UC3, the venture that manages commercial affairs for UEFA's club competitions. PepsiCo has now been confirmed as the preferred bidder.
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UC3 and its agency partner for those club competitions, US-based Relevent Sports, launched a tender process for these rights in early December.
The deal will cover the top-tier UEFA Champions League (UCL), secondary Europa League, and the third-tier Conference League. PepsiCo has been a UCL partner since 2015.
The brand's current UEFA men's club competitions contract – activated through its Lay's product – covers the 2024-27 cycle, and was unveiled in mid-2023. GlobalData Sport valued that agreement at $70 million annually.
PepsiCo is also a sponsor of UEFA's women's competitions through 2030, with the latest extension of that partnership announced earlier this year.
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By GlobalDataUC3 has described the tender process for these rights as "highly competitive."
For the UCL, other existing commercial partners include the likes of Heineken, Mastercard, Sony, Adidas, Bet365, and Qatar Airways (with that brand having also signed up for the 2027-30 period).
UEFA and Relevent have now also begun the process of selecting broadcast partners for the next cycle, with this having gotten underway over the last couple of months.
In terms of PepsiCo's recent sports sponsorship activity, meanwhile, earlier this month it was announced as a global sponsor of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team from motor racing's top-tier Formula 1.
In October, a multi-year tie-up with London's Wembley Stadium, the home of the men's England national team, was announced.
