The president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, said the European Club Association does not represent the best interests of domestic leagues as he helped to launch a union that will aim to “give a voice” to more than 1,000 clubs across the continent.
Representatives from five English clubs – Aston Villa, Brighton, Brentford, Crystal Palace and Watford – were in Brussels on Monday for an event to mark the establishment of the Union of European Clubs, which clubs from 25 countries have expressed interest in joining.
The UEC’s founders, who include the former Blackburn and Republic of Ireland midfielder turned lawyer Gareth Farrelly, have said it intends to provide small or medium-sized clubs who do not regularly qualify for Europe with the opportunity to have a say on decisions that could affect their domestic leagues, such as the expansion of the Champions League from the 2024-25 season.
At present only clubs who qualify for Uefa’s club competitions are invited to become part of the ECA and only 109 of the most successful are permitted to vote on major issues. Tebas accused the ECA – led by Paris Saint-Germain’s president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, since 2019 – of “destructuring” European football but denied reports he was set to assume the presidency of the UEC as a direct rival.
“I’m fed up with hearing that the ECA represents the European clubs,” he said. “It represents the elite clubs in Europe. We try to defend solidarity but that is not just 10% off the clubs. It has to be everyone. Is the ECA open? Not to vote and not for decision-making. Which is what is really necessary.
“European football is now gradually becoming destructured. The super league wanted to destructure it very fast but there are others, in this particular case I think it’s the ECA. If we don’t have a reaction from these other clubs then it will be a disaster for the domestic leagues.”
Although it is understood that none of the English clubs in Brussels have committed to joining the new union, Palace’s chairman, Steve Parish, told the conference the club was open to the concept because “we don’t feel we are represented anywhere at European level”.
He said: “We see beautiful stories all the time but it feels like there is an attempt to stamp those stories out. It feels like any aspiration is very much frowned upon, belittled. They love this term ‘small club’ but I think we have to stop using it about ourselves. I don’t consider myself a small club – I consider myself a club that is trying to aspire to get into Europe and to win things. I don’t know all the answers but I think we need a different voice.”
Organisers had expected only a handful of clubs to attend their inaugural event and said they had had to organise a larger venue to accommodate everyone. “We’re here to provide a counterbalance to the influence that the leading clubs have via ECA on rule-making in European football,” said Katarina Pijetlovic, a lawyer who founded the union last year. “Most of the issues facing small and medium-sized clubs stem from the governance structure in which they have no voice.
“This is precisely why there is such a big gap between the best and the rest. We want to fill the gap – only 8% of clubs are represented by the ECA in the governance of European football. UEC wants to represent the remaining 1,400-plus clubs who are not.”
Last month Khelaifi was dismissive when asked about the prospect of a rival club association being set up. “I’ve barely heard of them. Are they the next A22?” he said in reference to the promoters of the proposed European Super League.
“The ECA is the sole representative body of clubs in Europe, recognised by Fifa, Uefa and all other stakeholders. We defend everybody at the ECA, creating solidarity for members of all sizes, but also non-members and even clubs outside of Europe. It’s really important we respect the pyramid. Anyone who’s joining another unrepresentative start-up should question their legitimacy.”
