Ant Group renews UEFA sponsorship through EURO 2028
Ant Group has renewed its UEFA sponsorship through EURO 2028, adding wealth management and health assistant services alongside payments as the partnership enters its tenth year.
UEFA has named Ant Group the official payment, wealth management and health assistant partner of EURO 2028 under a renewed agreement that will feature its Alipay, Ant Fortune and AQ platforms.The agreement also includes Ant International, whose Alipay+, Antom and WorldFirst brands serve travellers, merchants and other businesses through cross-border payment and account services.UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said: “We are delighted to continue our longstanding partnership with Ant Group.“Together, we've shown what's possible when football's global passion meets innovative technology, always with fans' experience at the heart of it.“Drawing on Ant Group's digital expertise, we look forward to creating new ways for supporters everywhere to feel closer to the game and competitions they love.”The renewal gives Ant Group a single tournament sponsorship through which to promote several services, with Alipay representing its payments business, Ant Fortune its wealth management offering and AQ its health assistant.Ant International will use the partnership to reach audiences beyond Ant Group’s domestic market, with UEFA identifying supporters travelling to the tournament and businesses serving them as part of the intended audience.Cyril Han, chief executive of Ant Group, said: “Our shared commitment to empowering people through football, payment technology and more inclusive services is what brought Ant Group and UEFA together.“With globalization as one of our core strategies and football as a universal language that connects people around the world, we are excited to work with UEFA to help fans around the world experience the passion and joy of the game in new ways, while unlocking new possibilities through payment technology.”Ant Group will also work with the UEFA Foundation for Children on charitable initiatives and support UEFA’s sustainability strategy, including investment in projects in the UK and Ireland linked to EURO 2028.The foundation work and local investment extend the scope of the agreement beyond the promotion of Ant Group’s brands and services during the tournament.UEFA said the two organisations had used the partnership over the previous eight years to introduce mobile payment options to more supporters and reach audiences through digital platforms, alongside initiatives such as the European Championship’s Top Scorer Awards.The renewal retains one of UEFA’s longstanding commercial partners for the next men’s European Championship while giving Ant Group a broader set of sponsorship categories through which to market its services.