Bundesliga International, a subsidiary of Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL), has appointed Infront to manage media rights for its first and second division across Europe.
Under the deal, Infront will manage media rights in ten European territories – Albania, Czech Republic, Estonia, Israel, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Romania and Slovakia – complementing the DFL in-house team’s global sales efforts.
Andreas Kaeshammer, Head of Football at Infront, said: “This new partnership approach allows us to combine forces to ensure the best result for all stakeholders, leveraging our experience of maximising value for premium football properties. Our joint ambition is to further increase Bundesliga’s reach and grant fans even broader access to both leagues.”
The partnership, spanning from the 2025-26 season to the end of 2028-29, covers all 617 games of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, as well as the Supercup and the four relegation playoff matches.
Established in 2017, Bundesliga International handles the marketing of audiovisual media rights for Bundesliga matches abroad on behalf of the DFL. The subsidiary also manages central sponsorship rights, trademark licences, and digital content for the league on all platforms.
This overarching goal to grow the league internationally comes after a previous plan to do so failed.
Earlier this year, the DFL announced it had abandoned a €1bn Bundesliga investment, which was planned to be installed into the DFL’s new marketing strategy that would sell broadcasting rights in exchange for capital investment for the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.
Although the capital investment could have boosted the Bundesliga’s international growth into new markets, fans across Germany believed it contradicted the league’s mandate, due to the 50+1 rule which ensures clubs retain majority ownership.
In the announcement, the DFL also stated that since the beginning of the attack on Ukraine, it has donated its proceeds from Russia to humanitarian aid and will continue to do so for the duration of the war, as confirmed by the DFL Executive Committee.
Peer Naubert, Chief Marketing Officer, Bundesliga International, highlighted that its aim is to ensure the Bundesliga has a broad global reach, providing fans and partners the opportunity to connect and enjoy the league.
Naubert added: “With its history in delivering results in global media rights distribution for premium sports properties, we believe Infront to be the perfect partner in achieving our aims and we look forward to seeing a successful distribution of Bundesliga action in these territories and more.
