The most prestigious European football competition which is religiously followed by billions of fans around the world is finally on the verge of its commencement next week.
The 2021-22 UEFA Champions League is the 67th edition of Europe’s major club football tournament which is organized by the UEFA. ‘The 2021-22 Champions League Final’ was originally planned to be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich but due to the relocation issue of the 2020 final, it is now shifted to the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The 32 participants, who will try to win the ultimate glory are paired into eight groups of four clubs each. All groups look pretty competitive, but group B can be termed as the group of death with some big names like Milan, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Porto. Nevertheless, the group stages this season will surely be very exciting to watch.
A lot of big names, who have already won the Champions League on numerous occasions will feature this time again and will be looking forward to winning back the title from the defending champions Chelsea. In last year’s CL Final, Chelsea defeated Man City and went on to win their second-ever UCL in the history of the club. This year Chelsea is as strong as ever after the addition of Romelu Lukaku, who is unstoppable in the UCL.
The very first matchday of the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League will be electrifying to watch as the Spanish top-flight club Sevilla will take on RB Salzburg at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium. On a similar matchday, Swiss club BSC Young Boys will clash against Manchester United at the Wankdorf Stadium (Stade de Suisse). Both the matches will be played on 14th September at 10 pm IST.
Sony Pictures Sports Networks India (SPSN) holds the broadcasting rights to telecast live UEFA matches in the Indian subcontinent which includes India, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. The deal was renewed recently and will last till 2023-24. In India, the UEFA Champions League will be broadcasted on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 2 HD, and Sony Six, and it will also be streamed online on Sony Liv and Jio TV.
Champions League is one of the most-watched sporting events in the world and gigantic private companies always look forward to signing a sponsorship deal for the same. The 2021-22 UEFA Champions League has a bunch of big sponsors which include FedEx, Mastercard, Heineken, Just Eat Takeaway.com, etc.
The logistics giant FedEx landed a sponsorship deal with the UCL till the 2024 season. FedEx has previously been the sponsor for the Europa League. Mastercard renewed its sponsorship contract with the UEFA back in 2020 and agreed to stay till 2024.
Heineken has been very close to the UEFA. The beer brand back in 2019, agreed to sponsor the Euro 2020 and also renewed the contract for the Champions League till 2024.
One of the most popular and historic sponsors of the Champions League is PlayStation. PlayStation has been sponsoring the UCL back since 1997, it has renewed its contract with the UEFA till the 2024 cycle, which adds more to the history.
Champions League is often considered to be the most-watched sporting event in the world with even non-footballing fans taking interest in the UCL finals. On average, the Champions League final is watched by 380m+ global viewers.
The vast appeal and popularity of the tournament attracted a lot of viewers. The UCL will be widely broadcasted by Viaplay and Amazon in Europe, SuperSport and beIN in Africa and the Middle East. DAZN, CBS, and ESPN are popular broadcasters in America. Sony and beIN are some of the broadcasters in Asia and the Pacific.