ALIPAY
12.6.2019 16:24:11 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
UEFA has announced a new exciting partnership with Alipay, the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform, which is aimed at reinventing fan engagement experiences and bringing Chinese fans of European national team football even closer to the action than ever before.
The partnership comprises a UEFA lifestyle account that offers unparalleled insights into European national team competitions, as well as a mini-program where Chinese fans can apply for tickets in a simplified way to the upcoming EURO 2020. Both features are accessible within the Alipay app, the world’s most-used mobile app outside social apps. 1
The collaboration is the first of its kind for an international sports organization. The lifestyle account will act as a content hub for Chinese fans of national team football in Europe. Visitors to the platform will have the chance to read about all the latest developments in UEFA’s National Team competitions, as well being able to view exclusive content.
To complement Chinese fans’ digital experiences, the UEFA EURO 2020 ticketing mini-program - the first time that UEFA allows a digital ticketing channel outside UEFA.com worldwide - will be launched on the same day. Chinese fans can start applying for tickets from 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,” said UEFA's director of marketing Guy-Laurent Epstein. “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 digital fan engagement solutions build on the existing partnership between UEFA and Alipay. In November 2018, the Chinese payment platform signed an unprecedented eight-year deal to become UEFA’s Official Global Payment Partner, Official Global Digital Wallet and Official Global FinTech Partner, for men’s national team events till 2026.
“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,” said Sabrina Peng, Chief Marketing Officer at Ant Financial. “Alipay has accumulated vast experiences in using mini-programs as a powerful tool to enable businesses in China and around the world. It is exciting to see the application being extended to football. We look forward to deepening the integration between football and technology in our partnership with UEFA in the next few years.”
Mini programs2 are light-apps that can be launched instantly on a main app interface, instead of having to be downloaded separately as native apps. They offer users faster access to various services as they can run from within the main app on any mobile operating system. There are more than 230 million active users accessing Alipay mini-programs daily for a variety of services ranging from finance and education to medical and transportation.
Over the next 12 months, UEFA will roll out a number of engaging and interactive digital activations and promotions on Alipay, which will bring Chinese and Asian fans closer to top European national team football than ever before.
About UEFA
UEFA – the Union of European Football Associations – is the governing body of European football. It is an association of associations, a representative democracy, and is the umbrella organisation for 55 national football associations across Europe. Its objectives are, among other things, to deal with all questions relating to European football, to promote football in a spirit of unity, solidarity, peace, understanding and fair play, without any discrimination on the part of politics, race, religion, gender or any other reason, to safeguard the values of European football, promote and protect ethical standards and good governance in European football, maintain relations with all stakeholders involved in European football, and support and safeguard its member associations for the overall well-being of the European game.
About Alipay
Operated by Ant Financial Services Group, Alipay is the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform. Launched in 2004, Alipay currently serves over 1 billion users with its local e-wallets partners. Over the years, Alipay has evolved from a digital wallet to a lifestyle enabler. Users can hail a taxi, book a hotel, buy movie tickets, pay utility bills, make appointments with doctors, or purchase wealth management products directly from within the app. In addition to online payments, Alipay is expanding to in-store offline payments both inside and outside of China. Alipay’s in-store payment service covers over 50 countries and regions across the world, and tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported in 35 countries and regions. Alipay works with over 250 overseas financial institutions and payment solution providers to enable cross-border payments for Chinese travelling overseas and overseas customers who purchase products from Chinese e-commerce sites. Alipay currently supports 27 currencies.
1
Source: The State of Mobile 2019
, by App Annie
2
Further read
on Alipay mini programs.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190612005617/en/
Contact:
Media Enquiries: Alipay Jing Yang yj196672@alipay.com +86 14716036560
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Ras Al Khaimah Signs Landmark Friendship Agreement & 10 MoUs during Historic High-Level Tour of South China28.10.2026 14:48:00 CET | Press release
His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, witnesses the signing of a historic agreement between Ras Al Khaimah and Fujian Province, China, concluding a six-day China visit. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261028878989/en/ His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, witnessed the signing of a landmark agreement between Ras Al Khaimah and Fujian Province, alongside 10 Memoranda of Understanding between entities from the Emirate and their Chinese counterparts, reflecting a shared commitment to broadening cooperation and translating longstanding relations into meaningful opportunities for the future. (Photo: AETOSWire) Signed in Fuzhou, the agreement establishes a framework for strengthening economic, maritime and cultural ties, including cooperation in green supply chains, port logistics, sustainabl
Media Release: Further Up – Allianz Reaches Highest-Ever Brand Value of $30.7 Billion28.10.2026 14:08:00 CET | Press release
Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2026 ranking: For the eighth consecutive year, Allianz is the world’s most valuable insurance brand and now ranks No. 26 among all brands.Financial performance and continuous brand management underpin brand strength, reflected in a record first-half 2026 operating profit.In 2026 Allianz helped deliver safe Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Milano Cortina, established a partnership with tennis player Jannik Sinner and founded the Allianz School for Life to foster financial literacy. A steady climb to a new high: For the eighth consecutive year, Allianz is the world’s most valuable insurance brand and has reached a record $30.7 billion in brand value, lifting it one place to No. 26 in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2026 ranking. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261028268225/en/ #1 Global Insurance Brand This 9% increase on 2025 further narrows the gap to the world’s most valu
Seoul Semiconductor Ends Need for Rare Earths in White LEDs28.10.2026 14:03:00 CET | Press release
Affiliate Seoul Viosys begins mass production of WICOP 3, which emits white light without rare earths from chips as small as 10 micrometers For three decades, white LEDs have depended on rare earth materials such as yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) layered onto a blue LED chip (Figure 1). Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ: 092190) today announced that it has broken that dependence. It has developed and begun mass producing a chip that emits white light without rare earths. The chip can be as small as 10 micrometers (µm). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261028475699/en/ Figure 1. New invention: white WICOP 3 (source: Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.) Seoul Viosys and its parent company Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ: 046890) opened the micro LED market with WICOP. WICOP is a chip architecture that eliminates the package altogether. Doing away with the package is widely regarded in the industry as a revolution in
Gurobi’s 2026 State of Mathematical Optimization Report Reveals Growing Convergence of AI and Optimization28.10.2026 14:00:00 CET | Press release
Survey finds GenAI use is on the rise as organizations embed optimization deeper into everyday operations. Gurobi Optimization, LLC, the leader in decision intelligence technology, today announced the release of its 2026 State of Mathematical Optimization Report. Based on a survey of 382 non-academic professionals across industries, the report examines how businesses are putting optimization to work, and how its use is evolving alongside other AI technologies. In a notable shift, 79% of respondents now use GenAI or large language models (LLMs) in their optimization work, up from 30% in 2025, with 37% using these tools systematically in their development workflows. Respondents see the greatest potential for this combined approach in code generation and debugging (68%), model formulation (67%), and natural-language interaction with optimization models (62%). Other key findings include: Optimization is becoming part of everyday operations: 52% of respondents say optimization supports ongo
1GLOBAL Empowers WEtell to Offer Sustainable Global Travel Connectivity28.10.2026 14:00:00 CET | Press release
New partnership integrates 1GLOBAL's eSIM infrastructure into WEtell's digital platform, bringing travel connectivity to every WEtell customerCustomers can activate global data plans in seconds without physical SIM cards, roaming complexity, or long-term commitments 1GLOBAL, a pioneer in global telecommunications solutions, today announced a new partnership with climate-neutral mobile phone provider WEtell to bring sustainable, app-based travel connectivity to its customers worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261028932032/en/ The partnership integrates 1GLOBAL's eSIM infrastructure into WEtell's digital platform, delivering sustainable global travel connectivity to WEtell customers. WEtell, founded in Freiburg in 2019, focuses on sustainable mobile communication, with an ethos of promoting eco-conscious consumption and integrating environmental and social values into its mobile services. When WEtell use
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom