The five-season Hyundai-UEFA partnership runs through the 2030-31 UCL campaign. (Hyundai/UEFA Imagery)
The Hyundai automotive giant has struck a deal to become a major sponsor of European men’s soccer’s iconic UEFA Champions League (UCL).
Through a five-season tie-up unveiled today, Hyundai will act as that premier competition’s official automotive sponsor from the start of the 2026-27 campaign – beginning tomorrow – until the end of 2030-31.
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The agreement also includes the UEFA Super Cup annual fixture, as well as the UEFA Youth League and Futsal Champions League competitions.
In terms of previous tie-ups between UEFA and Hyundai, the Japanese powerhouse sponsored the UEFA men’s European Championship national team tournament in both 2012 and 2016.
Elsewhere in soccer, the company was a partner of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, held in North America across June and July.
For UEFA, this news comes after several similar commercial announcements made last week – global workwear brand Strauss was brought in as the first-ever partner of the UEFA Refereeing division, while Chinese electronics brand Hisense extended its deal with the governing body to cover Euro 2028.
Another China-based electronics firm – Haier – also became a UEFA men’s club competitions sponsor last week, meanwhile.
Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA’s marketing director, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Hyundai as an official partner of the UEFA Champions League … We look forward to building a partnership that brings that shared ambition to life for fans around the world over the coming years.”
Jose Munoz, Hyundai Motor Company’s president and chief executive, added: “Following Hyundai’s engagement at the World Cup this summer, the UEFA Champions League is an ideal platform to show our beautifully designed vehicles with features fans love … I’m personally excited about engaging with fans across Europe. It’s a great time to celebrate the beautiful game with Hyundai.”
Most recently, in terms of soccer sponsorships, the Hyundai Motor America division became a commercial partner of Inter Miami in the US and Canada’s Major League Soccer.
Elsewhere, Polish public-service broadcaster TVP will once again be able to show UCL action this coming season, with a sub-licensing deal having now been struck with rights-holder Canal+.
TVP has agreed a deal through which it will cover 17 matches live – essentially, one match per gameweek throughout 2026-27.
It will also cover the final of the competition, set to take place on June 5 in Madrid, while a weekly highlights show, featuring goals from all games, will be produced on a weekly basis.
This follows on from a short-term deal being struck between TVP and Canal+ towards the end of the 2025-26 UCL season, along similar lines.
Polish players competing in this season’s UCL include Wojciech Szczęsny at Spanish heavyweights Barcelona, Piotr Zieliński at Italy’s Inter Milan, Matty Cash at Aston Villa, defenders Jan Bednarek and Jakub Kiwior at FC Porto, and Jakub Moder at Dutch giants Feyenoord.
However, no Polish clubs will take part in the group stages – Gornik Zabrze made it as far as the UCL’s second qualifying round, before being eliminated.
Canal+ holds current UCL rights in Poland through a three-season deal made public in March, 2024, which last year was extended through 2030-31.
The 2026-27 edition of the 36-team UCL begins tomorrow, with six fixtures, while another six – each – follow on both Wednesday and Thursday.
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