UEFA EURO 2028 - commercial rights protection: consultation

2. Requirements to Host the Championships

UEFA’s full requirements are not yet confirmed. The proposals set out for this survey are based on government guarantees made to UEFA when bidding for EURO 2028, and experience from EURO 2020, when Scotland was one of eleven host nations. That event was postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

An Act and Regulations were put in place in Scotland for EURO 2020.^[3] They were supported by guidance for businesses from Glasgow City Council. The Act and Regulations drew on legislation that was put in place for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.^[4] This experience and early discussion with UEFA suggests it is likely that rights protection legislation is required in order to host EURO 2028 matches in Scotland.

For EURO 2028, it is likely UEFA will require additional protections, including relevant criminal offences and enforcement powers, around:

• Unauthorised street trading
• Unauthorised advertising
• Unauthorised resale of tickets

2.1 Objectives of proposed legislation

Any proposed legislative measures would aim to meet UEFA’s requirements by:

• Protecting commercial rights by prohibiting unscrupulous touting of match tickets, often at significantly inflated prices, both in person and by electronic methods. This could also support a safe and secure event taking place.
• Protecting UEFA’s commercial rights and those of its sponsors and licensees, and preventing ambush marketing.
• Protecting the character and integrity of EURO 2028 by eliminating inappropriate advertising and street trading, including pedlars.
• Controlling advertising and street trading in designated areas to ensure the safety and the free flow of spectators to and from the event zones.

The proposed measures would aim to ensure the effective running of the event. They would not be required once the event was completed. They would therefore end a reasonable period after event activity finished.

Mega events such as UEFA EURO attract large audiences and have positive values associated with their brand. This makes them attractive to businesses seeking to promote their goods or services. Such businesses often pay significant sums to the organisers of these events to become official sponsors and licensees. This gives them the exclusive right to promote themselves and their goods or services as associated with the event.

Selling these commercial rights provides significant revenue for the event. Without it, an event might have to rely more on public funding. We have heard from the events sector that it has been more challenging to secure sponsorship and other types of commercial revenue following the pandemic, with many previous sponsorship arrangements having been scaled back because of increased costs for sponsors or changes in their commercial priorities.^[5] This makes protecting sponsors’ and other commercial rights even more important.

If sponsors and other commercial partners are not confident that such sponsorship and commercial rights are exclusive, it can reduce their value as a source of revenue. Ambush marketing is when companies or advertisers try to capture these benefits without the event organiser’s permission. It is also called parasitic marketing. These companies gain the benefits of association through unauthorised advertising and promotion without paying the sponsorship fee. Not paying this fee allows them to put more resource into traditional marketing activities. This makes it more difficult for an event to attract private investment, which undermines its revenue base. UEFA obliges host nations to put in place protections against ambush marketing to protect major events rights owners and their commercial partners.

Often ambush marketing creates an association through being close to or intruding into venues where the event is being held. Ambush marketers could put in place adverts (such as banners or blimps) around venues. They could also hand out free branded merchandising (such as T-shirts) to spectators that could be carried into venues. These adverts could then be seen by spectators or picked up on television.

The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, the Trade Marks Act 1994, the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988 and the common law of “passing off” already provide some protection against these activities. Nonetheless, the nature of this protection, coupled with the short term, high profile nature of EURO 2028 means that it could be targeted by ambush marketing strategies which could operate successfully within the law.

2.2 Street trading

For EURO 2020, unauthorised outdoor trading was prohibited in event zones when these were in operation. This was needed to meet UEFA’s requirements to host the event. It may also help manage the flow of people into and out of the event zones by keeping thoroughfares clear. It was intended to restrict market clutter, prevent inappropriate marketing, and protect the high standards associated with the event. It also aimed to protect the integrity of the event and prevent over-commercialisation.

We are discussing detailed requirements for EURO 2028 with UEFA. Measures would be expected to restrict street trading activity in the event zones. There would be an event zone around Hampden Park (using the event zone for EURO 2020^[6] as a basis), and an event zone in part of Glasgow City centre. For EURO 2020, trading was the sale or offer for sale, in an open public place, of an article or service.

Street trading by a non-UEFA partner would not be allowed when the event zone was operational. For Hampden, this would be for the whole tournament and a period before this. There could be exemptions to this. For EURO 2020, exemptions included permission for selling newspapers, busking, and public transport services.^[7]

There are currently approximately 146 street trading licences for the area around Hampden Park. There are currently approximately 3 street trading licences for Glasgow City Centre. A total of 94 Pedlars Licenses were issued nationally between 2 April 2023 and 2 April 2024.

For EURO 2020, the penalties for committing the street trading offence were:

• on summary conviction, a fine not exceeding £20,000,
• on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

For EURO 2028, we propose that similar measures and penalties should apply for street trading (including for pedlars).

It is proposed that Police Scotland and officers appointed by Glasgow City Council would enforce the proposed street trading offence. This is considered appropriate given the likely nature of the proposed offence and the need to target resources effectively. For someone to be appointed as an enforcement officer, they would require similar skills and experience as were required for EURO 2020.^[8] The proposed enforcement powers would be developed taking account of relevant previous legislation. This includes the Glasgow Commonwealth Games Act 2008, the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020, and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Act 2020.^[9]

We propose that guidance for street traders and other businesses would be issued to help them to understand and comply with the street trading measures.

Questions

Were you aware of street trading laws put in place in event zones for EURO 2020? Yes/No/Don’t Know

What impact, if any, did those street trading laws have on you (as a resident, business or visitor)?

What impact do you think the proposed measures on street trading in EURO 2028 event zones might have on you (as a resident, business or visitor)?

Do you think there are any exemptions or other measures that could be applied to help manage any adverse impacts from the proposed street trading measures? Yes/No/Don’t Know

Can you explain your answer to the above question?

2.3 Advertising

For EURO 2020, unauthorised advertising was prohibited in and around events zones when these were in operation. This was needed to meet UEFA’s requirements to control advertising space during the event.

As with street trading, these requirements were not only financially motivated. They were intended to restrict market clutter, prevent inappropriate marketing, and to protect the high standards associated with the event. They also aimed to protect the integrity of the event and prevent over-commercialisation.

We are discussing detailed requirements for EURO 2028 with UEFA. Measures would be expected to restrict outdoor advertising activity and commercial distributions in event zones. There would be an event zone around Hampden Park (using the event zone for EURO 2020^[10] as a basis), and an event zone in part of Glasgow City centre.

Advertising that did not have agreement from UEFA as an official sponsor would not be permitted when the event zone was operational. For Hampden, this would be for the whole tournament and a period before this. There are currently proposed to be 6 matches at Hampden.

There could be exemptions to this. For EURO 2020, exemptions included demonstrating support for or opposition to the views or actions of any person, and publicising political or religious beliefs, causes or campaigns. Certain advertising that was already in place in the event zones when the legislation came into force was also allowed to remain, to minimise the impact on business. We could consider putting these kinds of exemptions in place again for proposed legislation for EURO 2028.

For EURO 2020, the penalties for committing the advertising offence were:

• on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £20,000,
• on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

For EURO 2028, we propose that similar advertising measures and penalties should apply.

It is proposed that Police Scotland and officers appointed by Glasgow City Council would enforce the proposed advertising offence. This is considered appropriate given the nature of the proposed offence and the need to target resources effectively. For someone to be appointed as an enforcement officer, they would require similar skills and experience as were required for EURO 2020.^[11] The proposed enforcement powers would be developed taking account of relevant previous legislation. This includes the Glasgow Commonwealth Games Act 2008, the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020, and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Act 2020.^[12]

We propose that guidance for businesses would be issued to help them to understand and comply with the advertising measures.

Questions

Were you aware of advertising laws put in place in event zones for EURO 2020? Yes/No/Don’t Know

What impact, if any, did those advertising laws have on you (as a resident, business or visitor)?

What impact do you think the proposed measures on advertising in EURO 2028 event zones might have on you (as a resident, business or visitor)?

Do you think there are any exemptions or other measures that could be applied to help manage any adverse impacts from the proposed advertising measures? Yes/No/Don’t Know

Can you explain your answer to the above question?

2.4 Ticketing

Demand for tickets for EURO 2028, both in Glasgow and in other host cities, is expected to exceed the number of tickets that will be available. UEFA is the only authorised seller of Championship tickets. In the past, UEFA has had its own fan resale platform. People who had purchased tickets that they then could not use could sell these at face value on the platform.

For EURO 2020, the touting of tickets was prohibited both in person and online. This was to act as a deterrent to touts who would seek to profit (potentially significantly) from resale of tickets. It provided a basis for both preventative and punitive action in the event of any breach. These measures were to protect UEFA’s rights and additionally, supported fair access to tickets and helped to ensure public confidence in the event. Prohibiting unauthorised resale could also contribute to the safety and security of the event. For EURO 2020 there were exemptions in place. These included for charity auctions and certain electronic communications or the storage of data.^[13]

In early discussions on measures, UEFA has suggested that measures on ticketing for EURO 2020 in Scotland did not go far enough and should be strengthened for 2028. This is because resale was only prohibited above face value or at a profit. UEFA would prefer that the proposed legislation for EURO 2028 prohibits any unauthorised resale, and that it does not include a charity exemption or any other exemption.

For EURO 2020, a person convicted of a ticket touting offence was liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. This is £5,000. The approach the Scottish Government takes in proposing maximum fine levels for legislation is that offences which attract a Level 5 (£5,000) penalty should be capable of causing, or be liable to cause, substantial and direct damage to the property or interests of others or of the community as a whole.

The Glasgow Commonwealth Games Act 2008 originally considered the appropriate penalty for ticket touting in Scotland and established a precedent for using a maximum fine level of £5,000 through Scottish legislation for relevant events where ticket touting needs to be regulated. Since then, there has been an increase in the use of the internet and smartphones. This could make it easier for significant profit to be made from touting at scale (rather than an individual touting one or two tickets). We are considering whether a penalty of £5,000 remains appropriate or if it should be set at a higher level. For example, it may be considered appropriate for it to be adjusted to be in line with the penalty for the street trading and advertising offences (£20,000). Separately, it is noted that the penalty in Scotland for touting Birmingham Commonwealth Games tickets (which was set through UK Government legislation) was a fine not exceeding £50,000.^[14] However, other legislation in force in England and Wales sets the penalty at £5,000.^[15]

The proposed legislative enforcement powers would be developed taking into account relevant previous legislation. This includes the Glasgow Commonwealth Games Act 2008, the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020, and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Act 2020.^[16]

Questions

Were you aware of ticket touting laws put in place for EURO 2020? Yes/No/Don’t Know

What impact, if any, did those ticket touting laws have on you (as a resident, business or visitor)?

What impact do you think the proposed measures on ticket touting for EURO 2028 might have on you (as a resident, business or visitor)?

Do you think there are any exemptions or other measures that could be applied to help manage any adverse impacts from to the proposed ticket touting measures? Yes/No/Don’t Know

Can you explain your answer to the above question?

Which level of penalty for ticket touting offences do you think would be most appropriate for EURO 2028?

• £5,000
• £10,000
• £20,000
• £50,000
• Don’t know

Why?