European soccer's governing body, UEFA, has signed a sponsorship deal with digital bank Swissquote, which becomes the official sponsor for the next three seasons of the Europa League and Conference League.
The agreement for the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons makes Swissquote the first digital bank and the first Swiss company to sign a sponsorship agreement with UEFA club competitions.
As part of the sponsorship, Swissquote will benefit from brand exposure on billboards and in the stadiums where the 282 matches are played each season of both competitions, as well as on social media for both tournaments.
This is the fifth sponsorship contract for the 2021/22 to 2023/24 economic cycle signed by Uefa for the Europa League and Conference League. Swissquote joins Heineken, Hankook Tire, Engelbert Strauss and Just Eat Takeaway.
The Europa League faces major changes in the 2021/22 season due to the birth of the new Conference League. The group stage will be reduced from 48 to 32 teams, divided into eight groups of four. The eight group winners will automatically advance to the round of 16, while the eight second-placed teams in the tournament and the eight third-placed teams in the Champions League groups will vie for the remaining spots at stake.
UEFA ended the 2019/20 financial year, which ended on June 31, 2020, with a 21% drop in revenue compared to 2018/19, to three billion euros. The decline was largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the competition to hold the final rounds in a single country and without an audience in the stands.