UEFA President advocates dialogue and unity

The UEFA President, Michel Platini, has issued the following statement in the wake of this week's announcement that UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) have reached a provisional agreement regarding the signing of a renewed Memorandum of Understanding between the two bodies.

     "At the strategy meeting UEFA held in Cyprus in September, the UEFA member associations and Executive Committee entrusted me with the task of concluding a new Memorandum of Understanding with the European Club Association (ECA). As announced this week by the chairman of the ECA at the organisation's general meeting, we have reached an agreement on all aspects of the memorandum, and I am very satisfied with the outcome of these long months of negotiation. This new Memorandum of Understanding will be presented to the UEFA Congress on 22 March and I have no doubt that, with the consent of the 53 UEFA member associations, it will enable European football to develop in an atmosphere of calm, as it has over the past five years.

     "Some parts of the agreement are, however, still pending as they fall under the exclusive, legitimate responsibility of FIFA, the governing body of world football. One such pending item is the international match calendar. On this point and others, such as insurance, UEFA has drawn up innovative proposals which are supported by the various members of the European football family, including the clubs and national associations, and which are designed to best meet the expectations of all the national associations around the world. UEFA is proposing, for example, that all players under contract with a European club be insured when playing for their national team, whether European or not.

     "UEFA's proposals have been thought through and drawn up in consultation with FIFA and I am confident that, despite the recent tensions between the ECA and FIFA, the FIFA President will find a solution that represents a win-win situation for all concerned. His experience and determination to reach a compromise that satisfies everyone will enable the best interests of football to be safeguarded. It is through dialogue and unity that we will achieve this objective."