ECA Media Release
Representatives from 145 ECA Member Clubs attended the 14th European Club Association two-day General Assembly in Stockholm, which centred on the announcement of two landmark collaboration agreements with FIFA and UEFA.
ECA-FIFA Agreement
The agreement will see the creation of the FIFA Professional Football Department, composed of FIFA, ECA and player representatives. The new body will serve as a platform to discuss all matters related to professional football, and will make recommendations to the FIFA Committees. ECA now has its strongest ever mandate to promote clubs' interests at FIFA level and develop a more collaborative working relationship. From this point on, any changes to the International Match Calendar or the principles of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players will require explicit consent from ECA.
The FIFA World Cup club benefits will almost treble under the new agreement. For the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, every club which supplies players for the tournament will receive a proportional share of $209 million, up from $70 million for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. The distribution mechanism will be identical to the method used in 2014.
ECA-UEFA Memorandum of Understanding
The renewed Memorandum of Understanding secures two seats for ECA Club Representatives on the UEFA Executive Committee - first as "co-opted" members, then as full members (subject to the revision of the UEFA Statutes in 2016). This is a major achievement for ECA and a strong statement of UEFA's commitment to modern and dynamic governance models. The ECA Club Representatives to join the UEFA Executive Committee are yet to be confirmed.
The new MoU further increases the role of the UEFA Club Competitions Committee, wielding more meaningful influence on top-level decision-making. The UEFA Club Competitions Committee refers directly to the UEFA Executive Committee and will retain a "Referral Right" on a number of issues affecting clubs or club competitions. It will also be informed and consulted on marketing and financial matters and be composed exclusively of club representatives.
In the future, the clubs' financial benefits from UEFA EURO will be calculated as a percentage of the total gross revenue. In 2020, clubs will receive 8% of income from broadcast, commercial and ticketing/hospitality, with the minimum set at €200 million.
In response to the ever-growing revenues from the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League (note: the 2015-18 cycle sees a 32% increase in revenues leading to the total amount of €2.24 billion), ECA and UEFA have together developed a revolutionary club distribution mechanism based on fixed percentages. The key objectives were to reduce the ratio between Champions League and Europa League, to increase the Qualifying Round Share and to revise the leagues' share distribution concept in favour of medium/smaller championships. The new percentage-based system ensures that every stakeholder will benefit proportionally from the competitions' continued growth in the future.
The details of the ECA-UEFA Memorandum of Understanding can be viewed on www.ecaeurope.com.
New Executive Board Member
Further to the resignation of Aušrys Labinas (FK Ekranas), Dino Selimovic (FK Sarajevo) was elected by the ECA 4th Subdivision Clubs to join the ECA Executive Board for the remaining period of the running membership cycle, which lasts until the end of the 2014/15 season. The ECA Executive Board elections for the upcoming 2015-17 membership cycle will take place at the occasion of the 15th ECA General Assembly on 7-8 September 2015.
ECA Club Management Guide
ECA Member Clubs were presented with the first ECA Club Management Guide. The objective of this publication is to provide an in-depth study of the daily business activities of a football club by sharing various club methods and to offer to current and future club officials real-life examples from various areas of club management. More than 150 interviews with no fewer than 100 clubs were conducted to compile a selection of practical case studies. More information about the Guide and how to order a copy will be communicated in due course.