, run by Paris St-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has told its members that they are prohibited from joining the newly formed Union of European Clubs (UEC) – which has recruited clubs that feel disenfranchised by Uefa and the ECA. Among those Premier League clubs sympathetic to the UEC are Aston Villa, Brentford, Crystal Palace and Brighton, as well as Watford in the Championship. The Shakhtar Donetsk chief executive Sergei Palkin has also backed the UEC as a voice for the clubs outside the elite. Shakhtar, an ECA member, have played in the Champions League group stages for the last 13 years. The ECA is the strongest lobbying voice when it comes to change at Uefa, the sharing of the wealth Uefa's club competitions generate and its reorganisation, including the Champions League, from the start of the 2024-2025 season. Al-Khelaifi is a crucial ally for Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin in the wake of the European Super League breakaway in 2021. The strength of the ECA's influence is such that they co-own a joint venture with Uefa to distribute the broadcast and commercial earnings from Uefa club competitions. Yet many clubs believe that the ECA only represents the interests of the most powerful. The ECA has 245 member clubs across all 55 Uefa nations. All ordinary members, as they are described by the ECA, must be a part of their respective nation's top-flight and admitted on a four-year cycle, the latest of which begins this summer. Only the 16 founders have permanent membership regardless of their status, and from Britain they include only Manchester United, Chelsea and Rangers. In a letter to its members, seen by Telegraph Sport, the ECA said that its recently signed agreement with Fifa included a clause that clubs cannot be members of two European representative bodies. It described the UEC's objectives as 'unclear and ambiguous'. The ECA said that 'fragm){kind=link}
Exclusive: The European Club Association is the strongest lobbying voice when it comes to change at Uefa
A major row is brewing in European football over club representation at the highest level – with the elite club body telling its members, which include prominent Premier League clubs, they cannot sign with a new breakaway union.
The European Club Association (ECA), run by Paris St-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has told its members that they are prohibited from joining the newly formed Union of European Clubs (UEC) – which has recruited clubs that feel disenfranchised by Uefa and the ECA.
Among those Premier League clubs sympathetic to the UEC are Aston Villa, Brentford, Crystal Palace and Brighton, as well as Watford in the Championship. The Shakhtar Donetsk chief executive Sergei Palkin has also backed the UEC as a voice for the clubs outside the elite. Shakhtar, an ECA member, have played in the Champions League group stages for the last 13 years.
The ECA is the strongest lobbying voice when it comes to change at Uefa, the sharing of the wealth Uefa’s club competitions generate and its reorganisation, including the Champions League, from the start of the 2024-2025 season. Al-Khelaifi is a crucial ally for Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin in the wake of the European Super League breakaway in 2021. The strength of the ECA’s influence is such that they co-own a joint venture with Uefa to distribute the broadcast and commercial earnings from Uefa club competitions.