Brewing Success

Heineken Renews Long-Standing Relationship with UEFA Champions League - Marking Over 30 Years Together

Dolf van den Brink CEO at Heineken and Aleksander Čeferin President of UEFA

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heineken is announcing the extension of its sponsorship with the UEFA Champions League, Europe’s premier men’s club football competition, from 2024 through 2027. The extension will take the longstanding partnership to 33 years by the time the deal reaches its conclusion.

The UEFA Champions League is at the forefront of football culture which the global brewer has always been a part of; from Zidane’s volley at Hampden Park to the miracle in Istanbul, the company has been included in the most iconic imagery of the beautiful game, helping to create unforgettable moments for fans.

The longstanding alliance started in 1994 with the brand Amstel and moved to Heineken in 2005. For this new extension, UEFA’s most iconic club tournament takes on a new and exciting single-league format. From the 2024/25 season, the competition will expand from 32 to 36 teams which will mean 189 matches instead of the current 125, giving the brand even more opportunities to deliver unforgettable experiences for fans.

A core element of the partnership has been about bringing fans together around the world to develop meaningful experiences whilst promoting a positive message of inclusion, equality, and access for all fans. To support this drive, Heineken activated the ‘Cheers To All Fans’ campaign across both UEFA Champions League and UEFA Women’s Champions League competitions from 2022 to 2023. The campaign highlighted inclusivity of the female fans and players through a series of stunts and activations.

UEFA and the HEINEKEN company have spent the last 30 years growing the competition together beyond its European home, which has reached over 2.5 billion viewers around the world*. The strong relationship between the two brands is embodied by the fact that over 330 million fans who are aware of the sponsorship have consumed Heineken beer in the 21-22 season*. Heineken has supported the global growth of the competition for decades through cross-market activations like the ‘UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour presented by Heineken^’. The tour has taken the most iconic trophy in club football to over 30 countries around the world to meet fans in person. Heineken continues to hold unique events around the world to support this growth and bring fans together - in 2023, for example, the brewer held a series of screenings showing the UEFA Champions League final in 12 cities, hosting over 20,000 supporters.