Hanover, 5 February 2025

TUI is putting the world's most played sport in the spotlight: multi-year partnership with the International Socca Federation (ISF) and title sponsorship of international Socca tournaments

  • First joint international tournaments from autumn 2025 in TUI destinations: TUI Socca World Cup in Cancun (Mexico), TUI Socca Champions League on Crete (Greece)
  • Over a million players in 76 countries under the umbrella of the International School Football Association (5-, 6- and 7-a- side) at home
  • Next step in the travel group's international sponsoring strategy complements successful TUI marathons

TUI announces the next step in its international sponsorship strategy. As a new strategic partner of the International Socca Federation, TUI will be the title sponsor of the TUI Socca World Cup, the TUI Socca Champions League (men and women) and the TUI Socca Club Champions, ensuring that the tournaments are held at the most beautiful holiday destinations in the world. This enables players, their families and friends, as well as fans, to experience a relaxed holiday together alongside the action-packed tournaments. TUI will also be represented at all 12 annual ISF international tournaments. The partnership will start in October 2025 and run for at least three years.

This new sponsorship complements TUI's extensive involvement in marathons, where the TUI Palma Marathon Mallorca, the TUI Rhodes Marathon and the TUI Mediterranean Marathon League have been part of the travel group's portfolio since last year.

“Football unites the world – just like holidays. Socca is the most popular recreational sport worldwide, and now Socca tournaments will bring even more passion and fun to the most beautiful holiday destinations.“ – Sebastian Ebel, CEO TUI Group.

“We are very excited about the long-term partnership with TUI, as the company stands for shared experiences just as much as the International Socca Federation does. Together, we can strengthen our existing structures and create new tournament offerings in the most beautiful places in the world. It's a journey we are very much looking forward to,“ said Thanos Papadopoulos, CEO of the ISF.

Guests and players will be able to book Socca packages with TUI from March 2025. More details about the above tournaments are available on the ISF website.

About TUI Group

The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover. TUI Group offers its over 20 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 17 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.  

Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.