UEFA and Ant Group Extend Global Partnership Through UEFA EURO 2028

UEFA has extended its long-term partnership with Ant Group through to UEFA EURO 2028, positioning the Chinese technology giant as the tournament’s official payment and wealth management partner. For fintech professionals, this renewal underscores the growing intersection of cross-border digital payments and major sporting events as a primary driver for global consumer adoption.

What was announced

UEFA and Ant Group have committed to a tenth year of collaboration, covering the UEFA EURO 2028 tournament hosted in the UK and Ireland. Under the terms of the renewal, Ant Group will serve as the official partner for payment services, wealth management, and health assistance. The agreement leverages Ant Group’s digital ecosystem, including its flagship platforms Alipay, Ant Fortune, and AQ, to enhance fan engagement and streamline transaction experiences throughout the competition.

A significant component of the extension involves Ant International, the group's global arm. The partnership will integrate Ant International’s AI-native payment and account services, specifically highlighting brands such as Alipay+, Antom, and WorldFirst. These tools are designed to facilitate seamless cross-border payments for international travellers and businesses attending the tournament. Beyond technology, the collaboration includes a social impact element. Ant Group will work with the UEFA Foundation for Children on charitable initiatives and support UEFA’s Sustainability Strategy. This includes direct investment into impactful sustainability projects within the host nations of the UK and Ireland, aiming to drive societal change through the platform of international football.

"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."

Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA President

The companies involved

Ant Group is a major global technology provider that operates one of the world's most comprehensive digital payment ecosystems. Its international division, Ant International, functions as the group's primary vehicle for global expansion, offering a full stack of AI-native payment and account services. This includes Alipay+, a suite of cross-border mobile payment and marketing solutions, and WorldFirst, which focuses on international trade services for small and medium-sized enterprises. While Ant Group has navigated various regulatory shifts in its home market, its international strategy remains focused on digitising the travel and commerce experience.

UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, is the governing body of European football and the organiser of some of the world's most-watched sporting events. The partnership with Ant Group represents a strategic bridge between European sports infrastructure and Asian-led fintech innovation. By aligning with UEFA, Ant Group maintains a high-profile presence in the European market, leveraging the mass appeal of football to demonstrate the utility of its cross-border payment rails and wealth management tools to a global audience of fans, travellers, and merchants.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has tracked Ant International’s aggressive expansion into global markets and its integration of advanced technologies. Recently, the company achieved real-time cross-bank liquidity via HKMA EnsembleTX tokenisation, showcasing its move into blockchain-based settlement. The group’s merchant-facing brand, Antom, also recently partnered with Google Gemini to scale AI access across Asia.

Furthermore, Ant International has been securing the necessary regulatory groundwork for its global services, including obtaining major payment and SVF licenses from the Central Bank of the UAE. The company’s focus on the travel sector was also highlighted through a partnership between Tourism Malaysia and Alipay+ aimed at digitalising cross-border travel for 2026.

What this means

This renewal signals that the "super-app" ecosystem model continues to see sports sponsorship as the ultimate proving ground for cross-border interoperability. By embedding wealth management and AI-native payments into the fan experience, Ant Group is challenging traditional European banking incumbents on their own turf. The inclusion of Antom and WorldFirst suggests a shift from simple consumer payments to a more holistic B2B and B2C financial services play. For the industry, the question is whether European domestic payment schemes can offer a similarly unified experience for travellers, or if the market will increasingly rely on Asian-led rails like Alipay+ to bridge the fragmentation of the continent's payment landscape.