NYON; UC3 and Relevent Football Partners have launched the media rights tender process for the UEFA Men’s Club Competitions beginning from the 2027-28 season, introducing several industry firsts for some of the world’s most prestigious sports properties.  

Following UC3’s board meeting last Tuesday, held during the European Football Clubs’ (EFC) 32nd General Assembly in Rome, a more streamlined and innovative commercial strategy was approved.  

At the core of the strategy is the recognition of a rapidly evolving media landscape — as new global, digital-first platforms continue to provide more opportunities for fans by increasing investment in sport, and more traditional media partners deliver proven reach and consistency across Europe.  

In response, UC3 is launching a first-of-its-kind simultaneous tender across Europe’s top five media markets — France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK — for the UMCCs. This includes scope for longer four-year agreements, reflecting how the market has evolved and aligning with other premium football properties across Europe. Longer terms also provide better consistency for rights holders and fans.     

Additionally, an exclusive first-pick package, offering rights to one game per matchweek in the UEFA Champions League, will be introduced to serve new consumers and viewership trends, and expand the competition’s ever-increasing reach. The deadline for the tenders will be 18 November. 

In another first for the UEFA Champions League, the 2027/28 season will commence with a marquee Tuesday night clash: the reigning champions will get their title defence underway in a standalone fixture in front of their home fans. The rest of the action will unfold across Wednesday and Thursday during the exclusive UEFA Champions League matchweek, ensuring maximum visibility for all clubs. 

The approved commercial strategy also introduces new approaches to sponsorship and licensing packages that create stronger alignment between brands and media partners, opening up opportunities for new partnerships that will expand the reach of the competitions in key regions while preserving their premium nature. Details will be announced at a later date. UC3 and Relevent Football Partners will look to enhance and build on the already long-standing portfolio of partners for the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Youth League and the UEFA Futsal Champions League. 

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Co-Managing Director of UC3: “The launch of this new sales tender marks a significant milestone in UC3’s commercial strategy. By introducing a more flexible and globally focused approach, we aim to attract a broader range of partners and ensure UEFA’s Club Competitions continue to lead the way in sports media innovation. Relevent Football Partners’ expert knowledge of the commercial landscape make them an ideal partner to help us deliver on this ambition.” 

Charlie Marshall, Co-Managing Director of UC3: “UC3 is all about driving a step change in European club football marketing through an ever-closer partnership between UEFA and the clubs. Building on the success of the new UEFA Men’s Club Competitions format, we see a clear need to keep innovating and bringing fresh ideas to the market in order to unlock new value for the competitions, the clubs, our partners and our fans.” 

Boris Gartner, CEO of Relevent Football Partners: “Together with UC3, UEFA, and EFC, we’re taking a long-term, partnership-focused approach to the commercialisation of the UEFA Men’s Club Competitions. Our goal is to build a model that aligns incentives and creates enduring value for media partners, the competitions themselves, and the clubs they represent — not just for the next cycle, but for the next 20 years and beyond.”  

Following the successful implementation of a new format across UMCCs,  – encompassing a league phase which sees more meaningful, competitive fixtures for clubs across every single matchday – UC3 and Relevent Football partners believe the new agency relationship will ensure that these competitions remain the commercial reference point for all major sports across the globe, as well as securing increased revenues for participating clubs and larger solidarity payments for clubs who do not qualify to take part in European club competitions.  

Relevent Football Partners provides UC3 with strategic and sales support in the global marketing and sale of the commercial rights, together with the provision of account management and associated services for the UMCCs.  

Details of individual deals will be announced in due course.  

About UC3  

UC3 unites European football’s governing body UEFA and European Football Clubs (EFC), representing more than 800 top European clubs, around a new vision for managing commercial rights to UEFA’s Club Competitions (the “UCCs”).  It is the company responsible for exclusively managing all commercial aspects of the UCCs and creating value for our partners. UC3 oversees the management, sales and delivery of all commercial rights (including media, sponsorship and licensing rights) for UEFA’s elite men’s and women’s club competitions. 

About Relevent Football Partners  

Relevent Football Partners is a wholly owned subsidiary of Relevent, purpose-built to commercialise the UEFA Men’s Club Competitions globally. An independent entity, the agency is tasked with providing UC3 — the joint venture between UEFA and the European Football Clubs (EFC) — strategic and sales support in the worldwide marketing and sale of media, sponsorship and licensing rights for the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Youth League and the UEFA Futsal Champions League. The company is part of the Stephen Ross’ portfolio — including iconic properties like the Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, F1 Miami Grand Prix, and Miami Open Tennis as well as real estate development firms Related Ross and Related Companies and luxury fitness brand Equinox. Relevent Football Partners and its dedicated management and operational team is headquartered in London with satellite offices in New York and Miami, with Doha and Southeast Asia to follow. 

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