December 7 – UEFA has announced an extension of its long-term marketing partnership with TEAM Marketing.
The new agreement covers the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europe Cup and Europa Super Cup for an additional three seasons to the end of 2018 and, subject to performance, for a further three seasons to the end of the 2020/21 season.
TEAM board member Martin Wagner said: “This deal is a new chapter in the history of the sports industry.
“TEAM is, with its single-client focus, a model agency with no other business activities, no conflict of interests and with a strong involvement of the client on the board.
“All of this is fully in line with the overall requirement that more transparency must be established in the world of sport.”
UEFA’s new club competition with TEAM Marketing include a rights extension to cover the merchandising business, and a further rights package to be announced.
As part of the new agreement TEAM has made two new board appointments, UEFA executive committee member Michael van Praag (pictured below), and David Taylor, the chief executive officer of UEFA Events SA.
Bernhard Burgener will continue to serve as chairman of the board and Wagner as Delegate of the Board.
Taylor and Wagner will be part of the new Management Committee of the Board to assist supervision of the business.
TEAM has been ever-present as UEFA’s marketing partner for its club competitions since the UEFA Champions League was launched in 1992.
TEAM developed the ground-breaking commercial concepts and programmes that have become the model other confederations have sought to build their own premier competitions around.
The TEAM deal also marks the finalisation of UEFA’s core marketing partners for the next six years at least.
UEFA awarded the commercial rights management of its national team competitions to CAA Eleven in October.
CAA Eleven will manage the broadcasting, sponsorship and licensing rights.
Founded in June 2012, CAA Eleven was formed by CAA Sports, a division of entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
CAA Eleven will manage the centralised commercial rights to the 2016 UEFA European Championships qualifying competition, the European qualifying competition for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 24-team UEFA Euro 2016 final tournament.