Deltatre’s Wildemann joins Eurovision Sport as head of football

Eurovision Sport has appointed Stefan-Eric Wildemann as its new head of football, a role that will see him take charge of the exploitation and development of a portfolio of football rights that includes the FIFA World Cup.

Wildeman joins from Deltatre, the Turin-based sports and entertainment technology provider, where he served as senior director of business development based at Deltatre’s Video Experiences Unit in Eysins, Switzerland.

The company said that the appointment is part of a move “to build on recent important sports rights acquisitions and to deliver on its future strategy for ensuring that top sporting events can continue to be seen free-to-air across Europe and beyond, including digitally.”

Reporting to Adrian Fikentscher, Eurovision Sport’s recently appointed director of acquisitions, Wildemann will take responsibility for developing the rights proposition for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 in England, among other things.

Before joining Deltatre, Wildemann was for three years head of sales and distribution at FIFA, with responsibility for global placement of FIFA’s media rights and the management of the FIFA TV Sales & Distribution Department, having previously served in a variety of roles at football’s world governing body.

With a Bachelor in International Business with Distinction from Universiteit Maastricht, Netherlands, Stefan-Eric began his career at Ernst & Young in Germany, before taking a FIFA International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport cum Laude.

Fikentscher welcomed the appointment, saying: “Football is key for public service media and for EBU and its Members. With his background, his great knowledge of the relevant markets, as well as his excellent management skills, Stefan-Eric will help us to ensure that top football events can continue to be seen free-to-air across Europe and beyond, including digitally.”

Wildemann himself added: “I feel privileged to join Eurovision Sport in such an exciting role that will help the organisation to further build on its strong football rights portfolio and support the EBU Members in the acquisition and exploitation of the biggest football properties for public service media.”

Eurovision Sport is the sports arm of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).