Marchetti will join UEFA on February 1 next year. He replaces Swede Lars-Christer Olsson, the former marketing chief, who becomes UEFA chief executive on January 1.
Marchetti, 43, has been general secretary of the Italian Professional Football League since 1997, and is a member of UEFA's Professional Football Committee, as well as a co-ordinator of the European Union Premier Professional Football Leagues.
His remit will include the marketing of UEFA's most important commercial properties: the European Championships, next held in Portugal in 2004; and the UEFA Champions League, which features the Continent's top clubs and rakes in millions of pounds in broadcasting and sponsorship revenue for the body.
Champions League sponsors include Amstel, Ford and Sony PlayStation, while the commercial backers of Euro 2004 include McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Carlsberg.
UEFA recently tried to raise awareness of its role as the guardian of football's values of fair play, with an advertising campaign by Amsterdam agency 180.
The campaign underlines UEFA's contribution to grassroots football, and aims to build support for the body as it comes under pressure from the G-14 lobbying group that represents 18 European clubs.
Marchetti's appointment follows a shake-up at the English FA, which saw Paul Barber, director of marketing and communications, ousted after three years.
Barber, a member of Marketing's Power 100 list of the UK's most senior marketers, is understood to be considering approaches from elsewhere within football. He is being replaced at the FA by Jonathan Hill, marketing chief of Wembley Stadium, who will take on responsibility for the FA's commercial programme.
The body's communications function will be overseen by Daily Mail sports editor Colin Gibson. His appointment comes as the FA has been besieged by publicity over players facing criminal charges being included in the England squad.
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