• The non-alcoholic drinks sector is worth $479m in 2021 in the EMEA region, with $367m directed towards the European sports market. The Middle East and African markets remain undeveloped by comparison, with fewer sport teams and competitions located in these regions.
• Middle East and African sport markets currently see $7.25m in partnerships with the non-alcoholic drinks sector, with South Africa seeing more deals than any other country.
• 675 deals are currently active in Europe, while the Middle East and Africa regions only hold 17 active deals.

Non-alcoholic beverage brands are ever present in sport sponsorship, particularly in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, which holds $479m in active sponsorships. Europe remains the most engaging market for the sector, with 675 deals currently active in the region worth $367m in 2021, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Patrick Kinch, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Europe remains perhaps the most widely developed sporting market in the world, with a diverse array of sporting sectors offering numerous sponsorship opportunities for brands, big and small. With a population of 700 million, and most towns and cities on the continent able to boast at least one professional sports team, it is unsurprising that the non-alcoholic beverage sector’s biggest deals are with sporting properties based in the European region. These factors all contribute towards the continent holding both a significantly higher total deal value and volume than the other territories within the EMEA region.”

EMEA’s biggest deals with the non-alcoholic drinks sector are all European sport properties. UEFA properties, such as the Champions League and European Championship, are among the biggest deals. The European soccer governing body pulls in deals with soft drink giants Pepsi and Coca-Cola worth $55m and $35m a year, respectively. With deals of this magnitude, soccer stands as the most lucrative sporting market with $295m in sponsorship deals driven toward this sporting sector, significantly higher than any other sport market. This owes largely to the density and popularity of European soccer, which accounts for the majority of European sport sponsorship with the non-alcoholic drinks sector. The major leagues in France, Italy, Spain, England and Germany are all seeing numerous deals with the non-alcoholic drinks sector.

Kinch adds: “The total value of existing contracts between the EMEA sports market and the non-alcoholic beverage sector amounts to $1.46bn, with $479m estimated to be in circulation in 2021.”