Football’s European governing body, UEFA, has announced a partnership with Fanatics, which is labelled as one of the most comprehensive merchandise deals in European football.

The deal will cover men’s and women’s national teams and will also see Fanatics gain e-commerce rights and the opportunity to run the e-commerce business exclusively for UEFA’s national team competitions.

Commenting on the partnership, UEFA marketing director, Guy-Laurent Epstein, said: “We are delighted and excited to have agreed this long-term partnership with Fanatics, who are a market-leader in their field.”

“Our national team competitions for both the men’s and women’s game are some of the most followed sporting events across the globe and together, we are looking forward to offering fans an extensive range of merchandise so that the memories of these great tournaments remain with them for years to come,” he said.

Fanatics senior vice-president of international business development, Matthew Primack, added: “UEFA is one of the most respected brands in global sport and we are proud to be chosen to deliver their retail and merchandise solutions.”

“Fanatics is poised to provide UEFA with its first fully integrated e-commerce, event retail and licensed programme, and service a truly world class integrated experience for fans, regardless of whether they choose to shop online, at an event or at a retail store,” he said.

Additionally, Fanatics will create products and license the rights to category leaders in their respective fields to manufacture and distribute a significantly expanded, real-time selection of UEFA branded products.

The announcement comes after UEFA partnered with Mastercard for a children’s health and education campaign.