Coca-Cola set for UEFA Champions League deal

by Drew Barrand, Marketing 02-Jun-05, 11:37

UEFA, European football's governing body, has confirmed the overhauled sponsorship structure for the Champions League. This will include the addition of an exclusive category covering soft drinks, almost certainly leading to a deal with Coca-Cola.

Speaking exclusively to Marketing, UEFA chief executive Lars-Christer Olsson hinted strongly that a deal with Coke, already a sponsor of the UEFA European Championships, was close.

'We can positively say that one of the new sponsorship categories will be soft drinks, and we are in final negotiations with a brand already familiar to football,' he said. Coke declined to comment.

Earlier this year UEFA and its commercial rights agency, TEAM Marketing, decided to expand the Champions League's primary commercial partners from four to six. The three-year deals, which start in the 2006/07 season, are worth about £8m a year.

The four current sponsors are Ford, Sony PlayStation, MasterCard and Amstel. All are set to renew their deals, but only Amstel has officially signed up, switching the title rights to its Heineken brand.

Olsson added that the final category was likely to be IT and electronics, but much will depend on the renewal deal with Sony PlayStation. Last year it was revealed that Sony may transfer the sponsorship to its main brand, which Olsson confirmed was under consideration (Marketing, 23 June).

This would see Sony fill the IT and electronics category, with a telecoms brand expected to fill the last slot. Vodafone and T-Mobile are understood to have already expressed an interest.