A new organization, the Union of European Clubs (UEC), emerged this Monday to represent “small and medium-sized” professional teams and have more weight in front of the big clubs, which accumulate money and titles.
Presented in Brussels, where it will be headquartered, the UEC intends to “give voice” to approximately 1,400 clubs that are not represented in the current governance of continental football, explained one of its representatives, sports marketing specialist William Martucci.
This new structure of diffuse contours, which still does not have a board or statutes, claims the registration of 40 clubs from 25 countries during its presentation. In the same, were present directors of the Crystal Palace (Premier League), Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgian First Division) and Lokomotiva Zagreb (Croatian First Division). The President of the LaLigaJavier Tebas.
Excellent meeting and act of presentation of @clubs_union in Brussels with the support of it @EU_Commission through its Vice President @MargSchinas. Transparency, meritocracy, solidarity and unity unite the institutions for the future of European football. pic.twitter.com/aS0JvXjAWo
— Javier Tebas Medrano (@Tebasjavier) April 24, 2023
The UEC, far from posing a threat comparable to the aborted Superliga attempt by twelve elite clubs in 2021, presents itself as a “social interlocutor” for player and fan organizations and as a “complement” to the powerful European Club Association (ECA) , UEFA’s only official interlocutor so far.
It is not about “replacing the ECA, but providing a counterweight to the influence that the big clubs have through the ECA” on the financial management of European football, assured sports law specialist, Katarina Pijetlovic, when presenting the structure.
Neither UEFA nor ECA have commented on the arrival of this new player in football – the two structures manage the lucrative European club competitions between themselves. ECA, which was born in 2008 and currently has more than 300 teams under its auspices, also has an agreement with FIFA regarding the international calendar and compensation to clubs for releasing their players.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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