Main Achievements

Club directory

Since the formation of the European Club Association in 2008, there has been a series of landmark achievements. Over the years, ECA has signed several agreements with both UEFA and FIFA, which benefit not only ECA Member Clubs, but European club football as a whole. These agreements underline that the clubs' voice is now heard and taken seriously at the highest level. This section highlights some of the key achievements ECA has accomplished.

Club Benefits

To highlight and recognise the important contribution of clubs to the success of international football, ECA has agreements in place with UEFA and FIFA, which ensure that clubs that release players to the national team receive a share of the revenue gained from the respective national team competitions, namely the UEFA EURO and the FIFA World Cup. Learn more about Club Benefits.

In this section

Club Protection Programme

The FIFA Club Protection Programme (CPP) is an insurance policy covering the injury risk of national team players. Players, who are exclusively trained and paid for by the clubs, need to be insured for national team matches by the event organisers in case of disablement. The CPP ensures that FIFA provides compensation for the losses encountered by the club (player salary) during the period that the player is unavailable for his respective club. Learn more about the Club Protection Programme.

Financial Fair Play

In 2010, ECA officially endorsed the initiative for a more sustainable football club business model, Financial Fair Play. ECA has been committed to the Financial Fair Play project ever since and has been instrumental in creating the regulations and overall framework. ECA, via the Finance Working Group and the Financial Fair Play Panel, work collaboratively with UEFA to develop the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations to ensure the financial sustainability of European football clubs. Learn more about Financial Fair Play.

Governance

ECA has developed strong relationships with key stakeholders in European football, notably the two governing bodies, UEFA and FIFA. Over the years, ECA managed to ensure that club representatives are directly involved in the decision-making process linked to matters impacting the professional club game. Through the involvement of club representatives in various UEFA and FIFA bodies, the voice of European clubs is heard and properly taken into account. A milestone was reached in 2017, as two club representatives were formally accepted as full members in the UEFA Executive Committee. Learn more about ECA's role in football Governance.

International Match Calendar

The international match calendar makes the release of national team players compulsory for clubs on the dates it highlights. Further to an initiative by ECA, the new international match calendar provides a better balance between international and club football. Learn more about the International Match Calendar.

EU Matters

In order to ensure that the European clubs' voice is heard in the development of EU Sports Policy, ECA has built strong relationships with institutions of the European Union. Learn more about ECA's involvement in EU Matters.