June 12, 2019
The Union of European Football Associations said it entered a new partnership with Chinese mobile payment platform Alipay to offer enhanced fan engagement and digital ticketing capabilities.
UEFA will offer fans a lifestyle account that offers updates and exclusive content on team competitions and also gives fans the ability to apply for tickets for the upcoming Euro 2020, according to a company release.
Officials said the UEFA Euro 2020 mini-ticketing program is the first time that UEFA allowed a digital ticketing program outside of the UEFA.com site worldwide. Fans from China will be able to start applying for tickets on June 13.
"There is a real appetite amongst Chinese football fans for UEFA's national team competitions, where they have the chance to see some of the best players on the planet in action," Guy Laurent-Epstein, director of marketing for UEFA, said in the release. "We want to be in a position to give our fans premium content in their own language and our new partnerships with Alipay allow us to do exactly this."
The fan engagement deal builds upon an existing relationship between UEFA and Alipay. In November, Alipay signed an 8-year deal to become the official digital wallet, fintech partner and global payment partner of the sports league.
"We feel extremely delighted to be able to provide an innovative and inclusive solution in digital fan engagement, providing Chinese fans with more native experiences," Sabrina Peng, chief marketing officer at Ant Financial, said in the release.
She said that Alipay has used mini programs for businesses in China and in other parts of the world. Mini programs are light apps that can be downloaded from the main app interface, rather than having to be downloaded separately as native apps, according to Alilpay.
The company said that more than 230 million Alipay customers have used mini programs for a variety of businesses, including medical, transportation, education and finance.
Topics: In-App Payments, Mobile/Digital Wallet, Mobile Payments, Region: APAC, Region: EMEA, Social Media
Companies: Alipay
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