Heineken has confirmed its 30-year partnership with the Champions League will end in August 2027, with AB InBev set to pen a blockbuster deal to become UEFA’s official beer partner.
The Dutch brewer said it elected to end a three-decade association with the Champions League to focus on sponsorship deals “where spend is proportionate to value creation”.
“We continue to be a proud partner of F1 and have just signed a global partnership with Premier Padel, the fastest-growing sport worldwide, with meaningful multi-generational and gender reach,” Heineken said. “Plus, we are continuously exploring additional events that will add progressive properties that help us build meaningfulness and difference on global scale.
“We still have two more years to make the Champions League sponsorship big and keep the association with the Heineken brand in the minds of people for years to come.
“It has been a great ride, and in the spirit of our pioneering mindset and continuing to build meaningfulness and difference for our brands, we are proud to be investing in the future.”
The announcement comes after AB InBev confirmed it had entered into negotiations with UC3, a joint venture between UEFA and European Football Clubs (EFC), to become UEFA’s new official beer partner.
The potential deal would be global and cover all UEFA men’s club competitions for six seasons, UC3 said.
Reports suggest the deal could be worth up to €200m per season.
“Our selection by UC3 reflects our commitment to football and our mega-platform strategy,” AB InBev said in a statement yesterday (30 October). “The UEFA men’s club competitions will allow our brands to create more memorable experiences for fans globally and reinforce that beer and sports are better together. We look forward to becoming a great partner to UC3 for years to come.”
AB InBev is already the official beer partner of the FIFA World Cup, a role it has held since 1986. The Corona and Budweiser brewer extended this partnership in 2024 through to next year’s competition, set to take place in North America.
Its Budweiser brand was also the official beer of the Premier League from 2019 util last year, when it was replaced by Guinness.
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