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The prospect of Europe’s top clubs playing competitive fixtures in the U.S. has taken a step forward following news of a huge potential change in how UEFA sells the commercial and media rights to its club competitions.
For 30 years, European football’s governing body used Swiss-based agency TEAM Marketing to sell the global rights to the Champions League, making it one of the closest and most successful client/agency relationships in global sport.
But, in the wake of the 2021 European Super League crisis, UEFA teamed up with the European Club Association (ECA) to form UC3, a joint venture between UEFA and the game’s elite clubs to manage those rights.
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Its first significant act was to give New York-based agent Relevent Sports the job of selling UEFA’s club competitions in North America, with TEAM retaining responsibility for the rest of the world.
But now, in a move that underlines the importance of the U.S. market to European football, UC3 appears to have decided to drop TEAM completely and hand the keys to Relevent.
“The board of UC3, the joint venture between UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA), has agreed to enter into an exclusive period of negotiation with Relevent Sports over the global commercial rights to the UEFA men’s club competitions for the period 2027-2033,” said a statement issued by both UEFA and the ECA on Tuesday.
“The decision follows an open tender process, launched last summer, which attracted bids from a number of global and regional agencies. UC3 anticipates concluding the process in the coming weeks and shall not be making any further comment in the meantime.”
This deal cements a relationship between UEFA, Europe’s leading clubs and an agency that has made its name by trying to stage European club football in North America.
And it comes after several of European football’s most senior voices have made it clear they would be delighted to take meaningful fixtures across the Atlantic, just as North America’s “Big Four” leagues have brought games in the other direction.
ECA president Nasser Al Khelaifi has talked about the possibility of staging a four-team Super Cup tournament in the U.S., while UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has spoken more vaguely about playing Champions League games in North America.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin (DANIEL ROLAND/AFP via Getty Images)
Founded in 2012, Relevent is controlled by American real estate developer Stephen M. Ross, the principal owner of the Miami Dolphins and Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
Relevent’s first significant football venture was the International Champions Cup, a pre-season tournament that started in the U.S. in 2013 but has held editions in Europe and Asia, too, with the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United being regular participants.
Having brought Barcelona and Real Madrid to the U.S. for summer friendly in 2017, Relevent signed a 15-year deal with LaLiga in 2018 to promote the Spanish league in North America and, one year later, tried to stage two regular season games, including an El Clasico, in Miami.
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That plan was blocked by the United States Soccer Federation, with support from FIFA, starting a long legal fight over the right for domestic leagues to stage competitive fixtures beyond their borders.
Relevent, however, agreed to drop its claims against FIFA last year following the global governing body’s decision to set up a working group to look at the thorny subject of letting leagues and confederations play games outside their home territories.
But by that point, Relevent had already helped UEFA and the ECA strike a much-improved media deal for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League with CBS Sports, as well as becoming the North American agency for the Bundesliga, English Football League and Premier League.
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CBS Sports has made little secret of its interest in seeing Champions League football come to its backyard, including even the final one day. While all of this is undoubtedly positive for Relevent, which was once seen as an upstart in the football industry, it is terrible news for TEAM, which employs nearly 170 people in Lucerne and London.
In a statement posted on LinkedIn, TEAM said: “We have been informed by UC3 that they have entered into a period of exclusive negotiation with Relevent Sports for the 2027-33 commercial cycle of the UEFA men’s club competitions (UMCCs). Naturally, we are disappointed, but we remain incredibly proud of the work we have done alongside UEFA over the past 35 years.
“While this marks the end of an era, it is not the end of our ambition. Our deep knowledge of European club football, our track record of success, and our unwavering commitment to excellence remain. We are excited about the future and confident in TEAM’s expertise.”
The agency helped UEFA rebrand the old European Cup as the Champions League in 1992, playing a central role in creating one of the most successful and recognisable sports competitions on the planet.
But it perhaps made the mistake of getting too close to one client and failing to build relationships in football’s new markets.
(Top photo: VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images)
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