European football clubs sign for Brand Licensing Europe  

Football clubs are set to meet with retailers and manufacturers at BLE to sign deals and kick-off the next generation of club branded products.

Manchester City, Newcastle United, West Ham United, FC Barcelona, SL Benfica, Real Madrid CF and AC Milan are among the European football clubs confirmed to exhibit at Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) this year, which runs from the 24th-26th September at ExCeL, London.

At BLE, football clubs will meet with retailers and manufacturers to sign deals and kick-off the next generation of club branded products for fans. With more clubs recognising the value of brand licensing programmes, BLE is becoming an increasingly important fixture. This September, all eyes will be on creating product around next year’s UEFA Champions League, as well as looking ahead to the FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cups in 2026 and 2027.

Already confirmed to take part in BLE’s Sports Zone are:

• AC Milan
• Chelsea Football Club
• FC Barcelona
• FC Internazionale Milano
• FC Porto
• Federação Portuguesa de Futebol
• Federation Francaise Football
• Manchester City Football Club
• Real Madrid CF
• Newcastle United Football Club
• West Ham United Football Club
• Sport Lisboa e Benfica
• The FA
• UEFA Club Competitions

Newcastle United Football Club is exhibiting at BLE for the first time this year. The club’s head of Licensing, Leigh Simpson, said: “Newcastle United will exhibit at Brand Licensing Europe 2024 to showcase the club’s newly formed global licensing programme alongside some of the biggest and most prestigious licensed sports properties. We’re looking forward to meeting current and prospective licensees, international agents and service providers.”

West Ham United Football Club is returning to BLE for a second year. Licensing lead, John Allwood, commented: “We are pleased to be exhibiting at BLE once again, as the club’s licensing programme continues its strong growth. With Julen Lopetegui having recently joined as head coach, it’s an exciting new era for our fans in London and around the world, and we look forward to offering them even more ways to engage with the club through brand licensing.”

Matthieu Battini, BLE EMEA account director, added: “Sports collabs are a really exciting brand licensing category for both clubs and consumers. For the clubs, they broaden fanbases, build awareness and boost revenues. For the consumer, they deliver very creative, authentic – and often limited edition – products that allow them to tap into their fandom in a very cool way.

“We’ve seen three-way collabs like Manchester City x Puma x BlackEyePatch. And we’re seeing clubs all over Europe tap into the luxe market where they are choosing partners that may have a smaller audience overlap, but will help them win new consumers and demand a premium at retail. Great examples are AC Milan x Off White and Real Madrid x Zegan. The conversations that kick-start new product development like this start at BLE.”

To visit Brand Licensing Europe, meet the clubs and start conversations, register for a free pass now.