By Andrew Warshaw
February 14 – European leagues have again urged UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin not to marginalise them as part of his wide-ranging reform process.
Last week, mindful of the power of the biggest European clubs, Ceferin took the canny step of granting two full member positions on his executive committee to the European Club Association.
But he stopped short of granting the same privilege to the European Professional Football Leagues who are also seeking a place at UEFA’s top table so that they can have a say in proposed major changes to the Champions League that favour the ‘haves’ over the ‘have-nots’.
Until now, under an agreement between UEFA and EPFL, domestic top-flight fixtures have been outlawed whenever Champions League fixtures take place. But the so-called Memorandum of Understanding could be ripped up if UEFA continues to bend to the demands of the Continent’s elite clubs and refuses to amend the changes. That would then give individual leagues carte blanche to cause considerable disruption by scheduling mid-week evening games against the Champions League.
“We are still talking about potential inclusion of the leagues,” Ceferin told reporters last week. “It might happen at our Congress in Helsinki (in April), or it might not. It depends on our talks.”
But EPFL chief Lars-Christer Olsson said that negotiations must be finalised well before then – in fact by the EPFL’s general assembly in Portugal at the end of March.
“Even if it’s subject to ratification at their congress, we need some guidance from UEFA by the time our own members meet,” Olsson told Insideworldfootball. “Hopefully it will achieve what we are looking for – a proper co-operation agreement that is legally binding. It has to be far more solid than what we have now.”
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