UEFA and Alipay have announced an eight-year global partnership

Alipay, with over 700 million active users in China, becomes the Official Global Payment Partner, Official Global Digital Wallet and the Official Global FinTech Partner, for all men’s national team events, including UEFA EURO 2020 and UEFA EURO 2024.

UEFA and Alipay, the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform, operated by Ant Financial Services Group, are proud to announce a new eight-year global partnership for all UEFA national team football competitions from 2018 to 2026, according to a press release.

“Alipay is at the forefront of digital payments and in association with its global partners, Alipay has unique connections with over 900 million users. We believe the partnership will further innovate the way in which UEFA engages with football fans around the world.”

Alipay’s first four-year cycle as a UEFA national team competitions sponsor will see them involved in a total of eight competitions, spanning 420 matches and having an estimated total live audience of 7.4 billion people.

Football fans from all over the world will experience top-quality national team football. As global leaders in digital financial technology and mobile payment, Alipay and Ant Financial aim to bring digital innovation to football fans, enhance their onsite experience and provide seamless payment and other services to fans in Europe and across the world.

“We are proud to announce this unique and groundbreaking partnership with Ant Financial and Alipay for UEFA’s national team competitions,” UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said.

“Alipay is at the forefront of digital payments and in association with its global partners, Alipay has unique connections with over 900 million users. We believe the partnership will further innovate the way in which UEFA engages with football fans around the world.”

“We will work closely with Alipay to provide a unique digital experience for the hundreds of thousands of football fans that will follow their teams during UEFA EURO 2020 across 12 countries, and in Germany at UEFA EURO 2024.”

Eric Jing, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ant Financial, said: “We are thrilled to work with UEFA to bridge the world through the common language of football. We will empower UEFA to engage with football fans around the world through digital platforms and help UEFA reach and interact with a potential audience of billions in Asia.”

“Alipay will offer digital payment experiences to football fans using mobile phones and other technology innovations both online and on-site. The innovation we will bring to the partnership will also allow fans to engage with their teams and show their support in completely new ways.”

UEFA – the Union of European Football Associations – is the governing body of European football. It is an association of associations, a representative democracy, and is the umbrella organisation for 55 national football associations across Europe.

Operated by Ant Financial Services Group, Alipay is the world’s largest mobile and online payment platform. Launched in 2004, Alipay currently works with over 200 domestic financial institution partners. Over the years, Alipay has evolved from a digital wallet, to a lifestyle enabler. Users can hail a taxi, book a hotel, buy movie tickets, pay utility bills, make appointments with doctors, or purchase wealth management products directly from within the app.

In addition to online payments, Alipay is expanding to in-store offline payments both inside and outside of China. Alipay’s in-store payment service covers over 40 countries and regions across the world, and tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported in 29 countries and regions. Alipay works with over 250 overseas financial institutions and payment solution providers to enable cross-border payments for Chinese travelling overseas and overseas customers who purchase products from Chinese e-commerce sites. Alipay currently supports 27 currencies.