The Union of European Football Associations -UEFA- appointed Relevent on Tuesday to exclusively market its national-team competitions from 2028 to 2036. The mandate includes media, sponsorship and licensing rights, alongside management of relationships with commercial partners. The US agency had already secured the global mandate for men’s club competitions from 2027–28 to 2032–33. The decision concentrates the representation of two major European football portfolios within one provider, albeit through separate contracts and without transferring ownership of the competitions.
Relevent’s position has developed in stages. It initially handled club competition media rights in the United States; in March 2025, UC3, the joint venture between UEFA and the then European Club Association -ECA-, awarded it the global mandate that will replace TEAM Marketing. It will now succeed CAA Eleven in national-team competitions. Relevent, headquartered in New York and part of businessman Stephen Ross’ portfolio, is therefore expanding its relationship with UEFA. The two appointments operate through different structures: UC3 oversees the club competition business, while the new agreement covers national-team football.
Selling rights does not mean owning them
That distinction is essential to understanding the announcement. Relevent receives a mandate to market rights, develop sales opportunities and serve buyers and sponsors. It does not acquire the competitions or, through that appointment, become the authority deciding their formats, calendars or revenue distribution mechanisms. Exclusivity applies to the commercial representation of the contracted portfolios. UEFA retains ownership of its competitions and authority over their rules and formats. For club competitions, Relevent works under a mandate from UC3, the joint venture between UEFA and European clubs; for national-team competitions, the mandate comes directly from UEFA. Both agreements concern commercial representation.
A single agency can bring shared knowledge of markets, buyers and brands, as well as coordinate international distribution strategies. These are opportunities, rather than guaranteed outcomes or confirmation that club and national-team rights will be sold in combined packages. Zoran Laković, UEFA’s Deputy General Secretary for International Affairs, expressed the ambition behind the agreement: “We are confident that with their expertise and innovative ideas we will further develop the commercial programme for UEFA’s national team competitions which will in turn help us generate additional value for our member associations.” For Boris Gartner, Relevent’s CEO, representing both portfolios marks a defining moment for the company.
Concentration and oversight capacity
Concentration also increases the partner’s operational importance. An agency working across both major portfolios accumulates knowledge of buyers, prices, opportunities and commercial relationships. That can improve delivery, but makes it particularly important for UEFA and UC3 to retain sufficient information and their own capacity to assess the contracted work. Dependence is not measured solely by the number of providers: it also rests on whether the institution can scrutinise proposals, monitor results and maintain commercial continuity when the relationship changes. The partner’s American identity does not, in itself, demonstrate a governance problem.
The competitive tenders provide a counterweight to that interpretation. The club agreement followed an open process involving global and regional agencies; the national-team agreement also attracted bids from several international firms and underwent UEFA evaluation. That establishes that alternatives existed at the award stage, although initial competition and subsequent oversight are different matters. During delivery, measurable objectives, access to commercial information, management of potential conflicts and mechanisms to address underperformance all matter. These criteria allow the model to be assessed without presuming excessive concentration or attributing safeguards to contracts whose detailed provisions are not known.
What is at stake for member associations
For UEFA’s 55 member associations, the consequences extend beyond rights sales. Revenue from national-team competitions supports institutional funding and development programmes. HatTrick VI, which redistributes EURO 2024 revenue, has a €935 million budget for 2024–2028 and allows each association to receive up to €17 million, subject to the programme’s conditions. It includes infrastructure investment, support for operating costs and incentives linked to education, grassroots football, governance and other activities. This is a benchmark from the current cycle, rather than an increase in funding resulting from the new Relevent agreement.
The transition will follow different timelines. CAA Eleven will continue marketing the national-team portfolio through EURO 2028, including that tournament, and managing relationships with partners for those competitions. TEAM Marketing will maintain its services for the current club cycle until the completion of the 2026–27 season. Under the new national-team mandate, sponsorship and licensing rights for women’s tournaments will be included from 2030–31. Media rights awards, sponsorship revenue and future distributions to member associations will provide concrete measures for assessing the value generated by each portfolio.
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