UEFA has joined the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the content protection coalition dedicated to combating digital piracy.
UEFA is the first exclusive sports rights-holder to join ACE, while contributing to a broader industry-wide effort to safeguard the value of creative and sporting content worldwide.
UEFA will play an active role in ACE’s Live Tier, which enhances and coordinates ACE’s efforts to target sports piracy operations and, working with law enforcement and other partners, pursues actions that dismantle illegal operations worldwide. It also reinforces the position of UEFA and UC3 – the entity overseeing the commercialisation of the rights of UEFA’s club competitions – at the forefront of global anti-piracy action.
FutureSport 2025, taking place Thursday 6 November in Brighton, will feature a workshop on piracy titled ‘Battling the pirates – Practical strategies for sports content protection‘. For more information and to register click here
ACE, the global alliance against digital piracy led by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), brings together over 50 major entertainment companies and studios in a coordinated bid to combat piracy that threatens the integrity of the digital ecosystem.
“UEFA joining ACE represents a landmark moment in our global content protection strategy,” said Guy-Laurent Epstein, executive director of marketing at UEFA.
“This partnership allows us to expand our enforcement capabilities, deepen our existing collaboration with industry leaders and leverage ACE’s proven capabilities to disrupt illegal services.”
Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE added: “With UEFA joining the world’s largest anti-piracy coalition, we are strengthening our fight to detect, deter, and dismantle online piracy everywhere.
“UEFA’s membership bolsters ACE’s ability to defend sports content from nefarious players in real time – and amplifies the reach of our efforts to protect football fans and broadcasters across the globe.”
Members of the ACE Live Tier benefit from sharing the Alliance’s real-time intelligence, global reach, policy advocacy and partnerships with private sector and law enforcement allies.
Building upon ACE’s toolkit to dismantle piracy networks, the Live Tier features global hubs, processes and technology dedicated to addressing the immediacy of gameday piracy.
The current governing board members for ACE are Amazon, Apple TV, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
