The ECA Executive Committee (ExCo.) met today in London for their last meeting of the season ahead of the 2024 UEFA Champions League Final to progress various key priorities for European clubs, and received a report on the request by Juventus F.C. to rejoin ECA. The meeting was also attended by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin and FIFA General Secretary Mattias Grafström.
Opening the meeting ECA Chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, said: “I start the meeting with very significant news - after having several meetings recently with their management and owners, I am pleased to report that Juventus has requested to re-join ECA, which will be formalised shortly.
“ECA's door is always open to clubs who believe in collective interests, progressive reform and working constructively with all stakeholders – we are delighted Juventus will rejoin the European football family.”
New ‘Membership for All’ model
In the regular update on ECA membership, the ExCo. was informed that the current number of member clubs has grown to 658 ECA members, up from 266 clubs at the beginning of this season, with 100% membership in 20 countries.
The ExCo. was also presented with an update on the ongoing governance reform proposals for ECA membership that will see a simplification of the membership structure of the ECA Family to a more inclusive model under the banner ‘Membership for All’.
Updates on UEFA and FIFA stakeholder matters
The ExCo. was then updated on the key outcomes from the recent UEFA Executive Committee held in Dublin on 22 May, and the FIFA Council and Congress held in Bangkok earlier that month.
At the UEFA Exco. meeting the most relevant topics related to ECA were the (i) approval of various regulations including the Club Licensing and Financial Sustainability, Organisational and Disciplinary Regulations, (ii) update on youth competitions, (iii) extension of the Standing Facilities Observer Programme for 2024/25 season, and (iv) various host appointments of UEFA Club Competitions Finals.
The most relevant updates for ECA from the FIFA meetings were related to the (i) approval of the Women’s International Match Calendar from 2026 to 2029, (ii) approval of the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup every four years beginning in 2026 (iii) amendments to the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players to further protect the well-being of female players and coaches and (iv) Governance Reforms.
The ExCo. was updated on the finalisation of the sales process for the UEFA Men’s Club Competitions 2024-27 and the progress being made on the FIFA Club World Cup and Joint Venture.
Finally, ECA received a presentation from PwC, its consultancy partner who is leading a review of ECA’s strategy, organisational structure and governance for the long-term future.