- CAA Eleven set up in 2012 to service Uefa partnership
- Relevent is now exclusive sales agency for national team properties and men’s club competitions
- Appointment follows ‘competitive’ tender process with bids from ‘several’ agencies
US-based agency Relevent will exclusively market the commercial rights to Uefa’s national team competitions between 2028 and 2036, ousting CAA Eleven and adding to its existing sales brief covering European soccer’s club tournaments.
Uefa said Relevent was appointed on the back of a ‘competitive tender process’ which drew bids from ‘several leading international sports marketing agencies’.
It added that the company demonstrated ‘a strong understanding’ of its strategic objectives during what was described as an ‘extensive evaluation process’ and offered a ‘compelling vision’ for the commercial development of its national team competitions.
Relevent’s remit will cover media, sponsorship and licensing rights, in addition to account management and other associated commercial services.
The contract spans two editions of the men’s Uefa European Championship in 2032 and 2036, as well as the Uefa Nations League and European qualifiers for the Euros and Fifa World Cup.
SportsPro understands Relevent will also oversee media rights sales for the Women’s Euros in 2029 and 2033. The agency will take on sponsorship and licensing rights for Uefa’s women’s national team properties from the 2030/31 season – after the governing body’s current agreement with Two Circles expires.
Relevent replaces CAA Eleven as the exclusive marketing and sales agency for Uefa’s national team competitions, ending a relationship that will have passed the 15-year mark by the end of the current cycle.
CAA Eleven has held the role since 2012, when Uefa’s member nations voted to centralise the sale of national team commercial rights for the first time. The company was set up in Nyon, Switzerland, home of the confederation’s headquarters, by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), with the sole purpose of servicing the relationship.
‘Uefa would like to take this opportunity to thank CAA Eleven for the trusted partnership since 2012 and Uefa expresses its deep gratitude to CAA Eleven’s staff for their dedication and continued commitment to Uefa national team football,’ the governing body said in a statement.
It is understood that Relevent won the contract, in part, because of the strong start it has made as the exclusive global sales agency for Uefa’s men’s club competitions, including the Champions League.
The company took over that role from Team Marketing, another longstanding Uefa agency partner, after striking a deal with the governing body last year.
Relevent sells the club competition rights through its purpose-built subsidiary Relevent Football Partners (RFP), which has already secured significant media rights increases for the 2027 to 2033 cycle across Europe’s big five markets, as well as other territories across Europe and Latin America.
The agency launched simultaneous broadcast tenders in several major soccer markets to lure global streaming companies and drive competition, which led to Paramount+ acquiring rights in the UK and Germany.
The company has also revamped the sponsorship programme for the next cycle, allowing brands to strike six-year deals, and has delivered uplifts from agreements with the likes of Anheuser-Busch InBev.
As a result, it is understood that Uefa is on track to exceed €5 billion in annual commercial revenue for its men’s club competitions, and the governing body will be hoping that Relevent can now emulate that success for its national team properties.
According to Uefa’s most recent financial report, cumulative media rights and sponsorship sales for tournaments like the Nations League and European qualifiers are expected to generate €3 billion for the 2022 to 2028 cycle. Meanwhile, Euro 2024 delivered €1.4 billion in broadcast revenue and €619.9 million from commercial income.
Relevent chief executive Boris Gartner described the addition of the national team rights as a “defining moment” for the company.
“These are among the most storied and widely followed properties in sports worldwide, and they reflect our continued commitment to investing in European football,” he added.
“We are grateful to Uefa for its continued trust, and we are focused on delivering commercial outcomes that reflect the scale, quality and cultural significance of these competitions.”
Relevent will start the national team brief in similar circumstances to those when it took over the club competition contract, which coincided with a new format for the Champions League.
Starting from the 2028/29 season, the Nations League will transition from the current four leagues to three leagues of 18 teams, each of which will be comprised of three groups of six teams playing six matches against five different opponents.
Euros and World Cup qualifiers are also moving to a tiered structure and will incorporate elements of the Swiss system implemented across Uefa’s club competitions, with an overall goal of creating greater competitive balance, higher stakes and more matches between top-tier nations.
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