UEFA partners with Meta to remove unauthorised Champions League content

UEFA has strengthened its collaboration with Meta to remove unauthorised Champions League content more quickly, extending a rights-protection effort that is becoming central to the value of its commercial deals, according to a report by Inside World Football.

The two organisations tested an enhanced system around last season’s UEFA club competition finals, when online infringement typically peaks, cutting the time between identifying an infringement and having it removed. UEFA is also using the programme to target unauthorised use of competition trademarks, logos and other protected material across Facebook and Instagram, the report said.

The move comes as UEFA and sales agency Relevent Football Partners assemble the 2027/31 commercial cycle, with sponsorship and licensing revenue expected to approach €1 billion annually, and major brands including Alibaba, PepsiCo and AB InBev already signed for the next period, according to the report.

The Meta partnership builds on other recent enforcement efforts. Earlier this year, UEFA supported Europol’s Operation Kratos 2, which led to 29 arrests, the dismantling of nine criminal networks, and the removal of roughly 27,000 illegal streaming URLs, the report noted. UEFA also secured a dynamic blocking order in India covering 79 domains linked to an estimated two billion annual visits.