31st ECA General Assembly sees world football decision makers and ECA's membership come together in the Greek capital
Leaders of European and world football, legends of the game and tech innovators all came together with ECA’s now expanded membership in Athens as the Association hosted its largest ever General Assembly.
Over 400 member club delegates plus more than 100 special guests including former players, confederation Presidents and representatives, distinguished speakers and other members of the international football family attended to make the event from the 8 -10 October 2024 one of the largest and most significant football conventions globally.
Hosted by renowned presenter Reshmin Chowdhury, the event spanned three days and two locations, the Grand Hyatt and Intercontinental Hotels, attracting participants from 55 countries.
Key addresses came from ECA Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, and Greece’s Alternate Minister of Sports Ioannis Vroutsis.
Day one saw ECA’s first-ever Football Leaders Forum whose attendees heard from thought leaders Simon Kuper, a leading sports business expert and Anita Elberse, Harvard Business School professor.
Afterwards, ECA revealed a groundbreaking collaboration with Harvard Business School Executive Education on the delivery of the brand new ECA Executive Leadership Programme.
The highlight of the first day was the announcement of the ECA Awards for season 2023/24, including the newly introduced Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Award for Club Management Excellence. The CBS Champions League Today show, featuring pundits Thierry Henry, Micah Richards and Jamie Carragher then brought their lively interactive perspective on European football to conclude the morning session.
A major development at the General Assembly was the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding between UEFA and ECA, reinforcing the long-standing partnership between Europe’s governing body and the sole representative body of the clubs until 2033, focusing on governance, sporting and commercial aspects for both men’s and women’s competitions.
Elections to the ECA Board were held for vacant Board positions in Subdivision Two. Bart Verhaeghe (Club Brugge) and Stacy Johns (Grasshopper Club Zurich) were duly elected to these positions for the remainder of the ECA Board’s cycle 2023-27.
On the second day, former England manager Gareth Southgate offered insights into his time with the national team and Meta’s Chief Operating Officer Dan Reed shared a glimpse into the future of AI-powered wearable tech.
ECA Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi said: “The scope and scale of the 31st ECA General Assembly demonstrates the incredible progress ECA has made by doubling our membership in the last season. As the recognised voice of over 700 men’s and women’s clubs across Europe, we are driving the future of football in partnership with our member clubs of all sizes and our key stakeholders. Our renewed agreement with UEFA, extending our partnership to 2033, will ensure stability and growth for European football in the decade ahead.”
Reflecting on the General Assembly, ECA CEO Charlie Marshall praised the event: “We are delighted to have had such distinguished speakers joining all our members at the ECA General Assembly here in Athens. This was our biggest ECA General Assembly to date as we continue to find new ways of engaging and interacting with our growing membership base. This GA delivered a new look and feel with a programme that sparked lively discussions amongst our clubs. We look forward to setting the tone for the future gatherings of the European club game.”
In addition to a list of standout speakers, a host of membership changes were also adopted.
These included a revision to organisational regulations as part of ECA’s Membership for All initiative, that will see the existing membership structure amended with the former Network category being merged into the Associated Member category across all respective Subdivisions.
The final act of the General Assembly saw the budget for the 2024/25 cycle approved along with the appointment of Deloitte as ECA’s new financial auditor. The 32nd General Assembly was announced and will take place in Rome, Italy on 7 - 9 October 2025.