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Tag: Guy-Laurent Epstein

  • Fancode nets Uefa broadcast rights for Women’s Euro 2025 and U21 Men’s Championship

    Fancode nets Uefa broadcast rights for Women’s Euro 2025 and U21 Men’s Championship

    MUMBAI: Football fans in India won’t have to squint at dodgy links or wake up to spoilers anymore—Fancode has clinched exclusive broadcast and digital rights for two of Uefa’s most anticipated tournaments: the Uefa Women’s Euro 2025 and the Uefa U21 Men’s Championship 2025.

    The Uefa Women’s Euro will run from 2 July to 27 July with 31 matches on the card, showcasing elite athletes like Alexia Putellas, Lauren James, Keira Walsh, Ada Hegerberg, Aitana Bonmatí, and Kadidiatou Diani. With eight-time winners Germany, defending champions England, and continental heavyweights like Sweden, France, and the Netherlands vying for glory, the tournament promises fireworks.

    Fancode co-founder Yannick Colaco commented, “The growth of women’s football globally has been phenomenal, and Indian fans have embraced it with passion. We are proud to bring Uefa Women’s EURO 2025 to our platform, continuing our commitment to making world-class women’s sport accessible to fans across India”.

    But the summer of football doesn’t stop there. The Uefa U21 Men’s Championship—scheduled from 11-28 June—will also be streamed live on Fancode. Known as the launchpad for greats like Andrea Pirlo, Mesut Özil, Juan Mata, and Thiago Alcântara, the tournament now features rising stars including Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG), and Rico Lewis (Manchester City).

    Colaco added, “These are tournaments with massive international following, and now Indian fans can watch all the action seamlessly, live and exclusive on Fancode. It’s part of our vision to make top-tier global football more accessible than ever before”.

    Uefa’s marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein endorsed the partnership, “We are pleased to partner with Fancode as the home of the upcoming Uefa Women’s Euro & Uefa Under-21 Championship in the Indian sub-continent region. Football fans will be able to enjoy extensive and the highest quality coverage of Uefa Women’s Euro 2025 & Uefa Under-21 Championship 2025, with all matches broadcast on Fancode’s digital platform”.

    Fancode has previously brought Indian audiences major women’s tournaments including the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 and the Barclays FA Women’s Super League. Their focus on building visibility for women’s sport continues with this latest move.

    Fans can tune in via Fancode’s mobile app, website, TV apps like Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Jio STB, or platforms including Tata Play Binge, WatchO, Playbox, and Sundirectgo. Matches will also be broadcast on Tata Play Fancode Sports (Channel 475), Jio TV+, and Prime Video Channels.

  • Sony Pictures Networks India renews UEFA rights for three more seasons

    Sony Pictures Networks India renews UEFA rights for three more seasons

    Mumbai: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), has extended its collaboration with Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), with a renewal of exclusive broadcast and digital rights for showcasing the biggest European club football leagues that includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Youth League.

    The renewal is valid from the 2024/ 2025 season till the end of the 2026-2027 season. As part of the three-season renewal, the broadcaster will have access to showcase over 1600 football matches across its channels over three seasons. Audiences in India will get a chance to watch their favorite teams like Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and more along with their favorite players like Kylian Mbappe, Mo Salah, Erling Haaland, Bruno Fernandes, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski amongst others.  These UEFA tournaments will be available exclusively on both linear television on Sony Sports Network as well as live-streamed on their on-demand OTT platform SonyLIV in the Indian subcontinent.  

    The UEFA Champions League will also be following a new format and competition system from 2024/25. From this season, four additional clubs will participate in the UEFA Champions League in a new league phase giving four more sides the opportunity to compete against the best clubs in Europe. 36 clubs will participate in this single league format in which all 36 competing clubs are ranked together. This will make this phase of the tournament even more exciting and would give the fans an opportunity to see more matches between the top teams. In addition to this, UEFA’s premier club competitions will no longer have a break in January, so fans can continue to enjoy non-stop European club football from August to May without any breaks in between.

    Sony Sports Network will continue to telecast select UEFA Champions League matches in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu and the contribution of regional language coverage to the viewership of the league’s knockout matches has gone up in recent years. Over the last three years, the incremental reach contributed by the regional coverage has increased from 25 per cent in the 2020/21 season to 38 per cent in the last season (2022/23).

    Sony Sports Network has been the home to UEFA Champions League since 2017 and this year the final is going to take place at the ‘Home of Football’, Wembley Stadium in London, England. In addition to this, Sony Sports Network continues to be the official broadcaster for the UEFA EURO 2024, Bundesliga, Emirates FA Cup, Roshn Saudi Pro League and more.

    Sony Pictures Networks India chief revenue officer – Distribution & International Business and Head – Sports Business Rajesh Kaul said, “Sony Sports Network, with a longstanding commitment to showcasing the very best of football, takes immense pride in announcing the extension of its partnership with UEFA for the next three seasons. Through this renewed collaboration, Sony Sports Network reaffirms its dedication to delivering unrivalled access to the most prestigious club football tournaments to fans across the Indian subcontinent. Since 2020, UEFA Champions League viewership in India has surged by over 51%, attributed largely through the introduction of regional language commentary. With the forthcoming transition to a new format, featuring over 125 additional matches and up to 38 early kickoff matches per season tailored for Indian audiences, we are confident that this growth will gain momentum further. As the ‘Home of Football’ in India, we eagerly anticipate showcasing over 1600 highly competitive football matches across these leagues to our viewers.”

    UEFA Events SA marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein said, “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Sony Sports Network. Sony Sports Network coverage of UEFA properties in India has led to the growth of its following and viewership in India. Fans in the region will be offered extensive and excellent coverage of UEFA’s Football portfolio which includes the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League, with the broadcast on Sony Sports Network and their digital platform Sony LIV.”

  • UEFA chooses Decathlon’s Kipsta for the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa conference league

    UEFA chooses Decathlon’s Kipsta for the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa conference league

    Mumbai: KIPSTA continues its rise in professional football. From the 2024-2025 season onwards and for a period of three years until the end of the 2026-2027 season), Decathlon will supply official match balls for the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League. From Portugal to Azerbaijan, from the Faroe Islands to Türkiye, all matches in these competitions will be played using Official Match balls designed and produced by Decathlon’s sub-label Kipsta.

    Kipsta, whose global headquarters are situated at the Kipstadium in Tourcoing, France, has been producing, for several years, official match balls that meet the highest technical requirements of the Ligue one Uber Eats and Ligue 2 BKT in France, as well as the Jupiler Pro League in Belgium.  

    Thanks to the thermo-bonding of its match ball panels (seamless ball), Kipsta official match balls offer superior sphericity and durability. It also provides a heightened playing sensation thanks to the textured microfiber foam component and debossing. Kipsta official match balls are characterised by their highly stable flight trajectory. Designed, tested and created in France, Kipsta official match balls are FIFA Quality Pro certified.

    Decathlon chief products and sports officer Fabien Brosse said: “UEFA’s decision recognises KIPSTA’s expertise and ability to offer a high-level technical product that meets the highest standards. It also reinforces the commitment of the KIPSTA teams to the practice of football, whether amateur or professional, throughout the world.”

    UEFA marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein said: “We are thrilled to announce KIPSTA as the official match ball supplier for the first time as we join forces with a brand that shares our passion for innovation, quality and the love of the game. KIPSTA’s experience in providing top-quality balls and commitment to the sport will be tremendous assets as the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League enter into new eras”

  • UEFA Europa League ropes in FedEx as main sponsor for 3 seasons

    UEFA Europa League ropes in FedEx as main sponsor for 3 seasons

    MUMBAI: FedEx Corp and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) have signed a three-season agreement in which FedEx will take the main sponsor position in the UEFA Europa League.

     

    The sponsorship will commence with the start of the 2015/2016 season and will extend for three seasons through to 2017/2018. A major European cup competition, the UEFA Europa League spans 192 teams across 54 European nations, which aligns with FedEx presence and network in the region.

     

    “As one of the most important European football Cup competitions, the UEFA Europa League is a perfect sponsorship for FedEx, which has a strong commitment to doing business across borders throughout the European region. The UEFA Europa League is an elite competition based on a foundation of grassroots football. It has a great mix of famous clubs and local teams, and reflects the genuine passion of fans across Europe. It is a great way for us to reinforce the commitment and passion that our employees demonstrate every day in all our markets across the region,” said FedEx Express Europe vice president, marketing and communications Andrew Self.

     

    Passion, inspiration and performance will be key themes across all marketing activation and will be reinforced through pitch side, stadium and press conference branding. The sponsorship also extends into UEFA’s digital channels across desktop and mobile platforms. In addition, FedEx will deliver the trophy to the stadium for the final, where it will be hand-delivered to a UEFA delegate before making the journey to pitch side.

     

    The sponsorship builds on FedEx’s extensive history of sports partnerships, including sponsorship of the ATP World Tour, 2014 Ryder Cup, PGA TOUR, and NFL.

     

    “We welcome FedEx into the UEFA sponsor partner family, and we are looking forward to collaborating together throughout the duration of the sponsorship. It is very suitable to have a global brand such as FedEx securing the Main Partner sponsorship for the tournament’s new commercial concept,” said UEFA Events SA marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein.