Day 3 of the ECA Working Group Week concluded on Thursday with Sustainability, Governance & Development and Women’s Football all on the agenda.
ECA’s Sustainability Working Group convened in the morning to discuss the latest developments in Vienna.
First up, was the confirmation that Siri Wallenius (Malmo FF), Rishi Jain (Liverpool FC), Annemarie Reynolds (Ajax FC), and Aslı Elif Koç Tiryaki (İstanbul Başakşehir F.K.) had all been appointed to the newly formed ED&I panel. The aim of the body will be to increase engagement around Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion practices for ECA Members.
The ECA administration also shared information relating to the organisation’s carbon footprint during the 2023-24 season and the wider plans of how the group is looking to acquire ISO 20121 certification. The ECA's adoption of ISO 20121 would further strengthen its commitment to sustainability by enhancing organisational performance, setting a benchmark in the sports industry and providing a strategic framework to deliver sustainable best-practice events while inspiring and guiding its member clubs.
In addition, the administration reflected on goals and milestones from the 2023/24 season which included the formal launch and adoption of the ECA Sustainability Strategy and the first edition of the Women on Board Programme.
The second part of the meeting saw the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) taskforce presented to the Working Group on the challenges, opportunities, and possible solutions for implementing the directive. Denise Heinemann from FC Bayern Munich shared insights on how the CSRD is being implemented at the club and how it could shape the Bundesliga club’s overall business strategy, aligning it with enhanced sustainability and transparency standards.
Afterwards, guest speaker Filippo Veglio Head of Social & Environmental Sustainability at UEFA broke down the latest Licensing Requirements for ECA Member Clubs.
FC Porto, Real Betis Balompié, Malmö FF concluded the meeting as they highlighted their own sustainability best practices with the FREE KICKS project, an initiative which is co-funded by the European Union.
Aslı Elif Koç Tiryaki was pleased with the UEFA presentation on the latest sustainability licensing requirements. “It’s good to know that UEFA is already preparing a guide for reporting criteria for licensing for all of the clubs, as none of the clubs are fully sure of how to report on it. So it is important that ECA and UEFA lead the way for the clubs for the next steps.”
The ECA Governance & Development Working Group convened to review achievements from the 2023/24 season and plan for the cycle ahead.
The first order of business saw Fernando Carro (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) Patrícia Silva Lopes (Sporting Portugal) and Kuno Tehva (Nõmme Kalju FC) all confirmed as members of the Workstream Bureau. This bureau exists to support the ExCo Lead in advancing the workstream’s objectives. It also serves as the main contact for ECA Administration, fostering engagement and ensuring alignment within the Governance & Development Working Group.
Looking back on the achievements of the 2023/24 season, the working group touched on a host of key areas across International Stakeholder Engagement, including recognition of the extended MoU with UEFA until 2033. The recent “ECA Membership for All” reforms were underlined to highlight ECA’s commitment to ongoing internal reform.
The updated ECA Membership was reviewed figures, emphasising the importance of active engagement with all 728 member clubs. To strengthen these connections increasingly, ECA plans to expand its programme of events, educational courses and expert advisory services, ensuring that each member benefits from direct access to essential insights and resources. The recent ECA strategic review and implementation plan was also discussed, in order to evolve the ECA administration to best serve the evolving needs of the membership base.
The final session saw ECA Women’s Working Group convene with members tackling critical topics shaping the future of women’s football.
The group focused on the competitive match calendar, analysing the distribution of match opportunities for clubs domestically and internationally. This discussion aimed to identify and address disparities that affect competitive balance across clubs and countries. Updates were also provided on the FIFA International Match Calendar and the recently approved FIFA Women’s Club World Cup.
Members received an update on the FIFA Women’s Training Rewards System, an issue that ECA is actively discussing with key stakeholder FIFA to address training compensation in women’s football. Attention turned to UEFA Women’s Club Competitions post-2025, covering developments in the financial distribution model and evolving sporting and regulatory frameworks. The Commercial Updates segment reviewed sponsorship and media rights for the upcoming UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) cycle and the yet to be named second-tier competition.
The session concluded with insights from the Girls’ Development Pathway project. The project which has been undertaken with Sportsology Group, presented their initial findings to the Working Group with an upcoming report of club-level recommendations expected by early next year. This report aims to strengthen pathways for young female players across Europe developing their career from the academy system all the way to first-team football.
Looking back on the meeting Laura Montgomery of Glasgow City FC said; “It’s really important to have all these voices at the table as all voices need to be considered on every step we forward as clubs in Europe.”