Soccer accounts for 58 % of EMEA non-alcoholic beverage sports sponsorship in 2025, reveals GlobalData

EMEA non-alcoholic beverage sponsorship is heavily concentrated in soccer, reflecting its unmatched, year-round audience scale and strong conversion potential that make it the sector’s primary driver of value. Soccer accounted for more than three times the value of the next-largest sport, motor racing in 2025, reveals GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

GlobalData’s latest report, “Sponsorship Sector Report – Non-Alcoholic Beverages – EMEA 2025,” reveals that despite motor racing only accounting for 14 deals across the region, the sport’s average deal value is $7.4 million, considerably higher than soccer’s $0.92 million.

Energy drink brands within the sector, including Red Bull and Monster Energy, command the highest average value across the region. In 2025, Europe leads EMEA in deal volume and value due to its mature market, deep sports culture, and concentration of major multinational brands.

Olivia Snooks, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Unlike soccer, where sponsorship opportunities are fragmented across hundreds of clubs, leagues, and tiers, creating a long tail of smaller, locally priced agreements, top-level motor racing, namely Formula 1, is concentrated in a small number of global properties, meaning a limited supply of top-tier assets and stronger pricing power per deal. F1’s association with performance, technology, precision, and endurance provides a credible narrative for product claims around energy, hydration, and recovery, enabling differentiated storytelling that is harder to execute in other sports.”

Red Bull is the region’s biggest non-alcoholic sports sponsor, investing $205.74 million, which is more than double Coca-Cola’s spending. With just 38 deals versus Coca-Cola’s 120, Red Bull is prioritising fewer, higher value partnerships over a high-volume strategy. This results in a higher average spend per deal, indicating a focus on marquee properties and premium rights that deliver maximum visibility and strong brand association with elite properties.

Snooks continues: “This strategy aligns with Red Bull’s global marketing position at the intersection of high energy sport, exclusivity, and youth culture. This premium strategy boosts impact in key EMEA markets, strengthening Red Bull’s aspirational lifestyle positioning and supporting stronger return of investment through a smaller number of deals.”

The UEFA Champions League partnership with PepsiCo offers the widest and most consistent international reach. It delivers prime-time audiences, strong digital distribution, and multiple activation opportunities throughout a long tournament. This explains why UEFA-linked rights command some of the largest fees, as sponsors are buying scale, brand safety, and repeatable visibility in high-stakes matches that regularly capture attention.

Snooks Concludes: “A key trend in the biggest deals is Red Bull’s prominence across multiple entries, reflecting a highly non-traditional approach. It effectively buys and operates the teams themselves in several cases. Rather than backing one flagship partnership, it invests across soccer and motorsport teams and individual stars like Max Verstappen, creating a consistent narrative around elite performance, and youth culture.”