Carlsberg sponsored European soccer from the 1980s right up until 2016. But the two most recent UEFA men’s European Championships have seen different beers on tap. Heineken was the sponsor for Euro 2020, while Germany’s Bitburger sponsored Euro 2024.
But in a surprise announcement last week, Carlsberg said it was back with a multi-year sponsorship and pouring rights deal for UEFA men’s, women’s and futsal national team tournaments up to 2030.
When asked why Carlsberg left its deal with UEFA in the first place, the company’s global sponsorships director Louise Bach said “to be honest, our business was in a very different state at the time” and “had to focus on the short term” rather than on long-term major sponsorship investments, especially with the Euros only coming up every four years.
She said it was a purely strategic decision and not a “messy divorce” and that the beer giant didn’t leave football entirely as it still had its deals with club sides such as Liverpool.
In Carlsberg’s absence, German brand Bitburger was the beer supplier for last summer’s Euro 2024 including supplying a lower-percentage alcohol beer at England’s game against Serbia. While many fans chose to drink in city squares rather than the official fan parks, many of those cans that fans were drinking were also from the official beer provider.
So what made Carlsberg come back to UEFA’s national team tournaments? Bach says that it’s based on Carlsberg’s broader strategy and that now is the time for it to invest long-term in its brands.
Another benefit of the current sponsorship package for Carlsberg is that UEFA now has so many tournaments that “what we have now is truly an ‘always on’” with the Nations League and European Championship qualifiers as part of the deal.
UEFA’s Nations League format has seen a mixed reaction from fans and pundits, but one benefit that’s often not talked about is how the Nations League can tie into sponsorship deals like this one. It allows Carlsberg and other UEFA sponsors to be present in national team soccer almost every international break, rather than just once every four years, and this can really help improve brand awareness, in turn making UEFA a more attractive proposition for sponsors.
As Carlsberg’s deal was announced just a few days ago, the next international break in June, which features the UEFA Nations League finals, will be Carlsberg’s first big chance to engage with fans, with Bach saying “I think that’s where we’re all gonna feel like now we’re back.”
UEFA announced its new deal with Carlsberg by showing clips of historic moments from previous tournaments that the beer giant has sponsored, with Bach saying it has been “just really highlighting the fact that we have been part of some of the biggest moments and the best moments in European football.”
But England fans might notice that the Three Lions’ best performances at the men’s European Championships have come in the two tournaments that Carlsberg hasn’t sponsored. Is the brand’s return a bad omen for England at Euro 2028? Bach says she doesn’t want to get England fans on her back, but “may the best team win.”