Business
Heineken to end UEFA Champions League sponsorship in 2027
Heineken will end its long-running sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League in August 2027, concluding a partnership that began in 1994 with the Amstel brand before transitioning to the flagship Heineken label in 2005.
The company confirmed the decision on 30 October following a strategic review of its global sponsorship portfolio, citing a renewed emphasis on investments tied closely to measurable value creation and return on spend.
The announcement follows news that AB InBev has entered exclusive negotiations with UEFA’s commercial arm, UC3, to become the global official beer partner across all men’s club competitions from 2027 to 2033.
The agreement, if finalised, would cover premier tournaments including the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
Heineken stated that its exit from the competition aligns with an evolving global marketing strategy, focused on platforms that deliver high engagement and sustained brand impact.
The brewer confirmed continued investment in major global sports properties, including Formula 1, where it holds both title and sustainability partnerships, and Premier Padel, an international racket sport it joined as global beer partner earlier this month.
The company also extended its partnership with the UEFA Women’s Champions League earlier this month, securing rights for the 2025–2030 cycle.
Meanwhile, Heineken faces mounting pressure from investors to accelerate performance improvements. Industry analysts note that despite challenges faced across the global beer sector, the company has lagged behind market leader AB InBev in cost efficiency and volume momentum.
Investors argue that Heineken’s relatively larger brewery footprint and higher fixed costs in certain regions may require deeper operational changes, including potential facility rationalisation.
CEO Dolf van den Brink, who has led the €39 billion group since 2020, has outlined a dual-focus approach to sharpen efficiency and stabilise volume performance.
As part of its strategy presented earlier this year, Heineken committed to achieving up to €500m in annual gross cost savings through 2030, while concentrating growth initiatives on 17 priority markets and five core global brands.
The company aims to deliver mid-single-digit annual revenue growth with operating profit and earnings per share rising at a faster pace.
Van den Brink said he expects the beer market to return to approximately 1% volume growth annually once near-term macroeconomic pressures and geopolitical turbulence ease, with Heineken targeting performance ahead of the global category.
Business
Government Can’t Run Business Effectively – Dele Oye
We all know the failed history of government being involved in business. Ajaokuta… they have blown $8 billion and have not produced one steel; they blew $3 billion on refineries rehabilitation… and nothing happened. We are not having any fuel from them
Barr Dele Oye, the former president of NACCIMA, at the Vanguard Economic Discourse 2026 edition in Lagos on Wednesday, advised the federal government to limit its role to policy support and facilitation rather than involvement in commercial business activities.
Oye, now the Chairman of Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics (AERE) , cited past failures such as the Ajaokuta Steel Company and refineries rehabilitation projects.
He said: ” We all know the failed history of government being involved in business. Ajaokuta… they have blown $8 billion and have not produced one steel; they blew $3 billion on refineries rehabilitation… and nothing happened. We are not having any fuel from them.”
Oye maintained that government lacks the capacity to run businesses effectively.
” You have no track record in running any business… you cannot be government and also be private sector,” he said.
Business
John Ternus is Apple’s incoming CEO
John Ternus, Apple’s longtime hardware boss, is taking over as CEO, becoming just the second leader since Steve Jobs departed in 2011, less than two months before he died from cancer.
• John Ternus / CNBC / Getty Images
Tim Cook’s 15-year tenure as Apple CEO comes to an end on Sept. 1, the company announced on Monday.
John Ternus, Apple’s longtime hardware boss, is taking over as CEO, becoming just the second leader since Steve Jobs departed in 2011, less than two months before he died from cancer.
CNBC reports that as Cook exits, Apple faces numerous challenges, including an intricate supply chain that’s complicated by geopolitical tensions and soaring prices for memory due to unprecedented demand from the AI buildout.
But for Ternus, perhaps the most critical aspect of his new job will be pushing the company deeper into AI, where it’s lagged many of its megacap peers.
It said that so far, Apple’s AI strategy has involved avoiding hefty capital expenditures while Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Metacommit to hundreds of billions of dollars a year in combined capex to fund new data centers and fill them with pricey AI chips.
Business
NCC, CBN launch telecom industry portal to track fraudulent phone lines
“This means banks and other financial institutions can determine whether a line is active, swapped, disconnected, or reassigned to another subscriber.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN), have launched a portal that enables financial institutions to track fraudulent and suspicious phone lines across the country.
It is called the Telecoms Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS) portal , aimed at providing financial institutions with real-time visibility into the status of phone numbers used for transactions.
“The portal aggregates data on churned or recycled lines and numbers flagged for suspicious activities.
“This means banks and other financial institutions can determine whether a line is active, swapped, disconnected, or reassigned to another subscriber,” said the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida.
Speaking during the MoU signing event, Maida said that the agreement provides a structured framework for cooperation in critical areas, including payment system integrity, fraud mitigation, digital inclusion, and consumer protection.
On his part, Governor of CBN, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, said the MoU would strengthen coordination on regulatory approvals, technical standards, and innovation initiatives, including sandbox testing.
He noted that the partnership aligns with the apex bank’s commitment to promoting a secure, resilient, and inclusive financial system.
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