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Clubs to have bigger commercial say in Champions League?

Uefa and ECA are in discussions over a joint venture that would control all commercial matters related to European club tournaments.

Uefa currently has sole and final decision-making power over media rights auctions and sponsorship deals related to Champions League matches. The new model would give the ECA, led by Andrea Agnelli, president of Italy’s Juventus, an equal say on the terms of future commercial contracts.

A person briefed on the talks told the Financial Times that clubs are more interested in these governance proposals than the format changes for the Champions League. That’s because top sides care most about developing new ways to increase their revenues.

At Champions League matches, the competition’s main sponsors, such as Mastercard and Heineken, are the ones most prominently seen on advertising hoardings around the pitch.   Some clubs would like to end that arrangement, so their own sponsors are better featured and so increase the value of each team’s marketing deals. 

You could sell a share in the newly-created company that controls the Champions League’s commercial rights. Private equity firms in talks to acquire stakes in other competitions, such as Italy’s Serie A, may jump at the opportunity to buy into one of the world’s most watched sporting contests.

“Big financial powerhouses see that there is value to be created in our industry,” said Agnelli earlier this month. Top clubs are manoeuvring to realise that value for themselves.


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