Football continues to dominate the payments sector sponsorship landscape in 2024, with 140 deals totaling $371.60 million annually. Mastercard’s landmark $195 million sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League highlights soccer’s unparalleled commercial value.
UEFA’s substantial annual expenditure, followed by FIFA and other major leagues, reinforces the sport’s global appeal. Visa also makes a strong impact with high-profile partnerships, reflecting soccer’s prime role in payment brand strategies.
GlobalData’s latest report, “Sponsorship Sector Report – Financial Services (Payments),” reveals that UEFA is the highest spending sporting property and Mastercard is the biggest spending brand within the payments sector in 2024.
Olivia Snooks, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Given the dominance of soccer globally, in terms of both popularity and commercially, it is unsurprising that payment brands, as a collective, have focused much of their sports partnerships with soccer. The UCL is the most-watched club competition in the world, therefore provides a huge presence for brands to partner with.”
UEFA is the highest spending sporting property within the payments sector, with an annual spend worth an estimated $155.25 million. FIFA franks second in terms of annual value, with its largest deal being with Visa, which sees Visa serve as FIFA’s payment technology partner. Major League Baseball (MLB) ranks third, with the National Basketball Association (NBA) ranking in fourth in terms of annual deal vale.
Snooks continues: “Outside of FIFA and UEFA, the top soccer associations globally, the ‘big 4’ sports leagues across the Americas all occupy spaces within the top 10 major sports properties in the payments sector in terms of annual spend. MLB, NBA, National Football League (NFL), and National Hockey League (NHL) all hold huge commercial power, not just in the United States, but on a global scale.”
In 2024, Visa is the most active payment brand in terms of volume of deals and is also the second biggest spender. Visa’s largest value deals are with some of the major sports properties globally, FIFA, International Olympic Committee (IOC), NFL and US Soccer. Worth mentioning is Visa’s partnership with the IOC, which sees Visa serve as a TOP (The Olympic Partner) sponsor of the IOC. The deal is worth a reported value of $480 million.
Snooks concludes: “Across the payment brands, both Visa and Mastercard dominate both the spend and volume of deals in 2024. The top sports properties and leagues provide brands with the most possible exposure. Being the biggest sporting competition globally, the Olympics partnership with Visa is a significant partnership within the insurance sector.”
