The Union of European Clubs calls for coordinated EU-level action against live-sports piracy, warning that illegal streaming is no longer a marginal digital issue but a structural threat to European football.
Brussels, 2 June 2026
The Union of European Clubs has published its new policy briefing, “Piracy in European Football: A structural threat to the European Sport Model.”
The paper sets out UEC’s position on one of the most urgent challenges facing football’s economic and regulatory environment: the rapid growth of illegal live-streaming and its direct impact on broadcasting rights, club revenues, domestic leagues and the wider football pyramid.
Piracy in live sports broadcasting has evolved into a systemic and industrialised phenomenon. Far from being a purely technical problem, it undermines the value of media rights, weakens the revenues on which clubs depend and disrupts the financial equilibrium that sustains domestic competitions across Europe.
A structural threat to clubs and domestic leagues
Broadcasting revenues remain one of the core pillars of professional football. They support not only elite competitions, but also the redistribution mechanisms that allow clubs of different sizes to compete, invest and contribute to their communities.
According to the UEC briefing, recent industry estimates suggest that sports piracy costs the global sports sector approximately $28 billion every year. The impact in European football is already measurable, with LaLiga clubs estimated to lose €600–700 million annually and Serie A around €300 million per season to illegal streams.
For UEC, the consequences are particularly serious for small and mid-sized clubs, which rely disproportionately on collective media revenues. Reduced rights value means reduced investment capacity, weaker solidarity mechanisms and a growing risk of financial polarisation across the game.
The position paper warns that piracy accelerates competitive imbalance by allowing larger clubs to absorb revenue shocks more easily, while smaller clubs are left more exposed. It also weakens collective revenue pools, reduces funding for grassroots and development, and undermines the principles of sporting merit, open competition and financial solidarity at the heart of the European Sport Model.
Momentum at EU level
UEC welcomes the fact that the issue has recently been raised at the highest level of EU debate.
During the European Parliament plenary debate on online piracy of sports and other live events, Commissioner Glenn Micallef, European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, underlined that the unauthorised retransmission of competitions in real time weakens the value of broadcasting rights and ultimately affects athletes, clubs, leagues and fans. He also acknowledged that the Commission’s 2023 Recommendation has not been sufficient to curb the overall volume of online piracy of live events.
This recognition is important. The value of live sport is lost in real time. Once a match has been illegally streamed, the commercial damage cannot be fully repaired afterwards. That is why enforcement tools must be fast, coordinated and effective during the live event itself.
Why piracy is growing
The UEC paper identifies several structural drivers behind the rise of piracy, including fragmented media-rights markets, rising consumer costs, the technological accessibility of illegal streams, insufficient enforcement speed and a lack of accountability for digital intermediaries.
UEC believes enforcement is essential, but not sufficient on its own. Consumer behaviour is also shaped by market fragmentation and accessibility. This means that the response must combine stronger enforcement with a more sustainable and consumer-focused legal media environment.
At the same time, piracy also creates risks for fans. Illegal streaming services may expose users to fraud, malware, identity theft, privacy breaches and other forms of cybercrime. The harm is therefore not limited to broadcasters or rights holders; it also affects consumers and the integrity of the digital environment around sport.
UEC’s policy position
UEC considers piracy to be:
The paper calls for a comprehensive response combining enforcement, regulatory reform and structural adjustments to football’s economic model.
UEC’s recommendations include:
1. Real-time enforcement mechanisms
Illegal streams must be removed during live events, not after the damage has been done. UEC supports stronger real-time enforcement tools, including EU-wide harmonised blocking orders.
2. Greater accountability for digital intermediaries
Platforms, ISPs, hosting providers, device manufacturers and other digital intermediaries must be part of the solution. Faster response requirements and clearer legal obligations are necessary to prevent illegal streams from spreading unchecked.
3. Stronger legal frameworks
The EU should close regulatory gaps in live-content protection and align enforcement tools across Member States.
4. Consumer-centric market reform
The legal offer must be accessible, understandable and attractive. Addressing fragmentation in media-rights markets should form part of the broader anti-piracy response.
5. Industry coordination
Leagues, clubs, broadcasters, platforms, regulators and enforcement authorities must work together across borders. Piracy is organised and international; the response must be coordinated accordingly.
These recommendations reflect UEC’s view that anti-piracy action must be matched to the speed and scale of live content theft. The position paper calls for EU-level intervention, coordinated stakeholder action and integration of anti-piracy policy into broader football-governance reform.
Part of a broader reform agenda
UEC emphasises that piracy cannot be addressed in isolation. It must be understood as part of a wider challenge: how to protect the economic foundations of domestic football in an increasingly concentrated and fragmented environment.
The position paper therefore links anti-piracy efforts to UEC’s broader reform priorities, including Domestic Media Rights Protection, Player Development Reward and fairer distribution of UEFA club-competition revenues. Together, these reforms aim to restore balance and sustainability across European football.
UEC call to action
Piracy is no longer a peripheral issue. It directly threatens the economic foundations of European football.
Without decisive EU-level action, its impact will continue to erode revenues, increase inequality and undermine domestic competitions. UEC therefore calls on the European Commission, EU institutions, Member States and all relevant stakeholders to prioritise this issue and develop a coordinated, effective and future-proof response.
Protecting live sports content is not only about defending broadcasters or commercial rights holders. It is about protecting clubs, competitions, fans, grassroots investment and the European Sport Model itself.
