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BRUSSELS — The EU on Monday signaled its support for a new football organization in Europe representing small- and medium-sized clubs.
The Union of European Clubs, which launched Monday in Brussels and brands itself as the “down to earth” football organization, was endorsed by European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas in remarks to POLITICO.
“I don’t see this as a problem or contributing to fragmentation [of European football]. It’s part of the same ecosystem, the same galaxy. It’s a positive thing,” Schinas said.
“It makes sense in this European model of sport that clubs, regardless of their size, are part of the broader ecosystem. This is yet another planet that is coming to a galaxy that needs to work in harmony,” he added, after wrapping up his opening speech at the UEC’s launch event.
The UEC aims to represent the hundreds of European professional clubs not under the umbrella of the powerful European Club Association, currently led by Paris Saint-Germain’s Qatari boss Nasser al-Khelaifi.
Other speakers at the event slammed the ECA, setting up a potential conflict between the nascent organization and the long-established club body, which is officially recognized by European football’s governing body UEFA.
Javier Tebas, president of Spain’s La Liga and an archrival of al-Khelaifi, said the ECA was only open for “tea, coffee, nice dinners and fantastic hotels” — but not for voting and decision-making.
The UEC wants to run its organization on a one-member-one-vote basis, and provide a “voice” for unrepresented European professional football clubs, it said. It is the brainchild of Katarina Pijetlovic, who serves as the UEC’s general secretary; Dennis Gudasic, executive director at NK Lokomotiva Zagreb; and Gareth Farrelly, an Irish lawyer and former English Premier League footballer.
Following the launch event, which was attended by 40 clubs from 25 countries, it will now begin the process of signing up official members. It will be open to professional first- and second-division clubs from across Europe, organizers said.
Just don’t call them small clubs. We’re “aspirational,” said Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish, who was at the event on a fact-finding mission, along with four other English Premier League clubs.
The organizers insisted they are not bidding to disrupt European football, which has been rocked for the past two years by a breakaway Super League attempt, but just want a seat at the table where decisions are made.
Alex Muzio, chairman of Brussels club Union Saint-Gilloise which hosted the inaugural UEC event, said he felt the “ECA is dominated by bigger teams and the voice of clubs like [mine] is not really there.”
The European Club Association declined to respond to the criticism.
