Mastercard makes the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season one for fans to remember with variety of unforgettable experiences

Priceless.com platform helped fans from 10 priority European markets experience the biggest matches in a special way, with 257 packages being sold in total.

Brand activity goes beyond matchdays through the launch of Girls4Football programme which provides thousands of young girls across Europe with essential life skills and memorable moments.

Over 1,600 Mastercard guests to be hosted in Munich with multiple business and consumer events taking place across the weekend of the final.

Mastercard, a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League for over 30 years, continued to use Europe’s most prestigious football competition to connect fans to priceless experiences this year, with opportunities spanning across exclusive hospitality and ticket packages, charity programmes throughout Europe and major activations around the final in Munich. 

This season’s UEFA Champions League looked completely different to fans because of the debut of the Swiss Format, but to Mastercard, more matches means more possibilities to bring fans closer to the excitement and cultural moments they love, and brand presence went beyond visibility at fixtures to make purposeful connections with fans of all backgrounds and ages. 

The most popular matchday touchpoint for fans is through ticketing, and Mastercard elevates the experience by offering cardholders hospitality and general admission tickets at great prices. These are available through Priceless.com, the platform where Mastercard cardholders can purchase unforgettable experiences across sports, arts and many other passions, and 257 packages were sold across the 10 priority European markets from the first match day to the sixteenth.

At the heart of Mastercard’s sponsorship activity is ensuring that sport is used as a force good. For the 24/25 season, a social impact initiative called Girls4Football was launched in partnership with the UEFA Foundation for Children that combined football sessions with educational workshops like managing finances, to help equip young girls with skills both on and off the pitch.

Mastercard celebrated the programme kicking off by creating “The Playbook: Mastering the Game”, a free book authored by Narinder Dhami, the writer of cult-classic Bend It Like Beckham, that told the stories of eleven of the game’s female trailblazers from the boardroom to the pitch and distilled them into tips for young girls to overcome challenges and reach their goals. 

The UK launch day took place at The Emirates Stadium with over 40 journalists and partners, with attendees being able to hear from the UK trailblazers, pundit Alex Scott and Arsenal Chief Commercial Officer Juliet Slot. The books have since been translated and distributed to partner NGOs across France, Germany, Italy and Spain. 

The Playbook was paired with activity that leveraged Mastercard partners to provide unforgettable experiences that will last a lifetime for young girls in the participating markets. These included all-girl player mascot lineups taking to the field in Paris, Munich, London, Madrid and Milan during the Round of 16 fixtures, 20 children visiting Olympique Lyonnais Féminin for one-to-one training and workshops and 9 girls designing the Arsenal Women Player of the Season trophy.

The culmination of a season’s worth of activity will be spotlighted at the final in Munich on May 31 where multiple activations will take place for the 1,603 Mastercard guests travelling from around the world. 

Mastercard has worked with the Champions Innovate programme to ensure a lasting positive impact is left on the city of Munich following the final. This year’s challenge was to promote a healthier lifestyle to city habitants, and Mastercard has done this through a partnership with FC Urban, an online platform that makes playing football easy by connecting enthusiasts to pitches and teammates. 

The project has grown rapidly from providing one session a week to six, and the grand finale will see teams compete on the official Champions Pitch where the winners will receive tickets to the Champions Legends Tournament the following day at the SAP Garden, supporting Mastercard’s purpose of connecting fans to unique experiences.

Business partners will be invited to a summit at Motorworld Munich for a variety of talks from industry leaders including Mastercard Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Raja Rajamannar on innovation and payment technologies. Guests will be led into an exclusive hospitality experience at the Mastecard Lounge in the Champions Village following the summit to meet Champions League legends before enjoying the game.

Beatrice Cornacchia, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Europe at Mastercard said: “The UEFA Champions League continues to be one of the most powerful platforms for emotional connection and global engagement. At Mastercard, we’re proud to build on our long-standing partnership by delivering truly priceless experiences that bring fans closer to the moments and teams they love. For the 2024/25 season, our marketing activity went beyond visibility at match days, to make positive impacts across Europe and benefit the next generation of players by showing how sport can be a force for good. Football transcends borders and so does our commitment to connecting people to their passions in meaningful ways.”