February 23 – The European Leagues board in its first meeting of the year has prioritised its focus on the international match calendar and changes to the distribution of club revenue generated from international club competitions, saying they are “critical issues” that must be addressed.
The European Leagues (EL) has an ongoing legal action against FIFA in a bid to make the world governing body comply with European Union (EU) law.
EL has been excluded from FIFA’s stakeholder discussions despite FIFA needing the clubs from their leagues to make up FIFA’s new and rapidly expanding club competition ambition. The effect has been a forced reshuffle of seasons that had already been bent to FIFA’s timetable with a winter World Cup in 2022 and another expected Winter World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2034.
The economic impact and imbalance for leagues are of major concerns to both the leagues and their clubs that don’t qualify for FIFA’s competition.
The economic imbalance created is not just a concern for FIFA’s competitions, but also for UEFA. The difference though is that the European League are part of the stakeholder discussion in Europe but have been excluded from the discussion at FIFA level.
The EL said the key task was ‘tackling growing financial and sporting polarisation in the game by delivering significant change to the distribution models of financial revenues from international club competitions while, in parallel, advocating for stronger cost-control and expenditure regulations. In this context, leagues carry significant expectations in relation to upcoming discussions and negotiations with UEFA and the EFC on the Revenue Distribution Model of UEFA Club Competitions for the 2027/31 Cycle.”
European Leagues president Claudius Schäfer said: “The coming months will be critical in shaping decisions in determining the long-term future of European football. It is why the Board is fully focused on ensuring that developments relating to such matters as the international match calendar, revenue distribution, the transfer system along with the fight against online piracy continue to serve the interests of domestic leagues and football’s wider eco-system.”
He reiterated the EL’s desire to be a collaborator, not an agitator.
“As a Board we are fully united and determined to work constructively with UEFA and FIFA along with other stakeholders in addressing challenges the game faces and seize opportunities that exist. This is the spirit in which we undertake our responsibility as we seek to meet the demands and expectations of fans from across the world who remain the life blood of the game.”
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