First ECA Executive Board meeting chaired by Nasser Al-Khelaifi focuses efforts on supporting European football’s recovery and development

The ECA Executive Board met today in Munich for its first in-person meeting since February 2020, convened by new ECA Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi and attended by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin. The meeting came at a time of continuing challenge for the game in light of the ongoing impacts felt due to the COVID pandemic and the ramifications of the ill-fated European Super League (ESL) project.
The gathering, which takes place as European football is focused on the UEFA EURO 2020 tournament, saw the Executive Board agree a number of important positions which include:

• pursuing efforts to reinforce ECA’s trusted relationship with UEFA through a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) intended to define the landscape post 2024, which at its core will seek to safeguard the future long term stability of European football.

• engaging in urgent discussions with UEFA to request the development of a range of immediate financial support measures for European clubs to alleviate the liquidity shortages within football.

• providing ECA’s full support towards UEFA’s Convention on the Future of European Football, which is aimed at securing the game’s long-term sustainability. ECA is committed to playing a leading role in supporting all efforts around the Convention.

• reiterating ECA’s commitment to work with UEFA and FIFA to best manage the International Match Calendar (IMC), ensuring players are afforded the necessary protections when participating in international team competitions. It was also agreed to accelerate discussions with stakeholders in shaping a more coherent, balanced and harmonised IMC for the period beyond 2024.

• managing the fallout and implications of the ESL project. The Board welcomed the decision of 9 of the 12 breakaway clubs to renounce the project and reaffirm their commitment to ECA (in line with the ‘Club Commitment Declaration’ agreed with UEFA). A process of reintegration of the 9 clubs within ECA has now been laid out.

Commenting on the meeting, ECA Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi said: “ECA’s role in safeguarding the future of European football has never been more important. Moving forward, I will ensure ECA continues to protect the interests of all European clubs, their communities and fans. The attendance at today’s meeting by President Čeferin is testament to how European football is unbeatable when acting together as one. This will be the defining spirit through which I will lead ECA and our member clubs throughout my mandate as ECA Chairman.”