ECA Members address key professional game topics at PEC Meetings across Europe

The meetings took place at the following dates and locations:

• 7 October: London, United Kingdom
• 10 October: Bordeaux, France
• 15 October: Rome, Italy
• 16 October: Berlin, Germany
• 29 October: Riga, Latvia

Senior representatives from clubs met to discuss, exchange views and receive updates on important developments relating to the future of European club football.

UEFA Club Competitions post 2024

Building on the detailed feedback received during the first phase of the internal consultation process carried out throughout the summer, the second phase has now been initiated. While the initial months focused on collecting member input on the shared ECA and UEFA principles, the next phase will enable ECA to develop a more concrete vision on the future of UEFA Club Competitions. Member feedback has continuously emphasised that reform is necessary and that more European matches are essential for the development of football as a whole. With this in mind, reform options and consequences were presented to members in order to continue engaged discussion on the direction to take. Feedback from these sessions will be provided to the ECA Executive Board and the ECA Competitions Working Group for consideration.

UEFA Club Competitions 2021-24

The commercial outlook and key changes to the commercial activities for the UEFA Club Competitions 2021-24 cycle were discussed amongst members. As part of this, the outcomes of the ECA Club Rights Task Force, set up with the aim to enhance the media, sponsorship and club/player rights for clubs in UEFA Club Competitions, were outlined and discussed. Furthermore, members were updated on the ongoing work between ECA and UEFA relating to the sporting and commercial development of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

FIFA Transfer System

Details of the reforms to the transfer system, relating to the representation and remuneration of agents; loans; and training rewards, were presented to members. ECA has been fully engaged on the Task Force looking at the matter, under the umbrella of the FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee, and supports the decisions taken by the FIFA Council. This process has been a positive example of FIFA working collaboratively with relevant stakeholders on taking decisions that directly impact the club game.

Club Services

Members were informed of the positive changes and overall enhancement of ECA’s club services, which have been developed with the goal to create additional value to members. Looking ahead, ECA will be taking a more structured, comprehensive and proactive approach to its club services. As part of this, ECA will continue gathering knowledge on its members over the coming months through its latest member survey, which will assist the organisation in better understanding its membership in order to help clubs meet their objectives in European football.

Following the conclusion of the latest round of PEC Meetings, ECA General Secretary Michele Centenaro stated:

“As the professional club game continues to develop at a rapid pace, we must engage regularly with our members in order to shape the future of European club football in their interests. This series of PEC Meetings helped us to gain greater insight into how we can enhance the game as we look to ensure its continued development. I am looking forward to maintaining this dialogue with the membership in the months ahead across all relevant ECA forums.”