The three-year deal also includes rights to the Super Cup – season curtain-raiser between the winners of the Champions League and UEFA Europa League – in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and will see MasterCard continue as the official payment systems provider of the two competitions. Monday’s announcement comes ahead of this week’s commencement of the Champions League knockout stages. MasterCard joins Heineken, UniCredit and Ford as the fourth official partner for the 2012-15 seasons besides Adidas, which is the official supplier. Sony and its PlayStation brand are the only current partners that have yet to commit to the new cycle.
“We are excited to renew our sponsorship with the UEFA Champions League, a relationship which dates back to 1994,” said Javier Perez, president of MasterCard Europe. “Sponsorships represent a critical component of MasterCard’s global marketing approach, and we will continue to use this unique platform to further create business-building opportunities for our customer financial institutions and merchants and thereby offering priceless experiences to MasterCard card holders around the world.”
Perez added: “Through sponsorship of this kind, MasterCard is proud to ‘bring the game to the people and the people to the game’, an ambition which is matched by our own objective to make as many tickets available to the MasterCard cardholders.” Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
David Taylor, CEO of UEFA Events SA, added: “The presence and active involvement of MasterCard has contributed to the great success of the UEFA Champions League – and will do so for the next three seasons. In return we expect to keep helping MasterCard create many priceless opportunities for millions of fans and cardholders worldwide.”
