At the 14th European Club Association (ECA) general assembly in Stockholm, with the participation of representatives from its 145 members –among them PAOK FC president Iakovos Angelidis-, break-through agreements were announced between ECA, FIFA and UEFA.

ECA announced the renewal of their memorandum of understanding with FIFA and UEFA, that sets a new benchmark for the relationship between clubs and national associations, secures the clubs with important prerogatives that span farther than an increased share of funding.

Clubs increase their role in top-level governance of FIFA and UEFA, the latter acknowledging the clubs’ importance in the sport’s promotion and evolution and in the success of national competitions. Clubs can roam along FIFA and UEFA and have meaningful influence on top-level decision-making.

Increased role at FIFA

The collaboration agreeement with FIFA decrees the creation of an autonomous section for professional football, with the participation of the international federation, representatives of ECA and of the footballers themselves. The new section will have an advisory role, suggesting amendments to the relevant FIFA committees. From now on, any changes to the international calendar and/or transfer regulations require the written consent of ECA!
Part of the agreement governs the distribution of benefits generated by the FIFA World Cup to the clubs. Based on the model developed for previous tournaments, a total of 209 million dollars (three times more than the sum given to the clubs last summer) will be distributed among the clubs releasing players to the participating teams in the 2018 FIFA World Cup of Russia. The same amount has been agreed for the edition to be staged in Qatar in 2022!

New memorandum of understanding with UEFA

The renewed memorandum of understanding with UEFA guarantees ECA with two members in their UEFA Executive Committee (until 2016, when UEFA amend their chart and these two positions become permanent).

According to the new MoU, clubs attain a greater role in top-level governance and retain a ‘referral right’ on a number of issues affecting them, such as club competitions, marketing and financial matters.

On a financial level, at the UEFA EURO 2020 final tournament, the clubs’ benefits from the UEFA EURO will be calculated as a percentage of the total gross revenue. Clubs will receive 8% of income from broadcast, commercial and ticketing/hospitality, with the minimum set at €200m – a €50m increase on the clubs’ share of UEFA EURO 2016 revenues.

UEFA and ECA have together developed a revolutionary distribution mechanism for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, aimed at sharing the competitions’ revenue growth more evenly among European clubs. A record funding pot of €2.24bn – combining 32% higher UEFA club competition revenues with UEFA finals ticketing and hospitality income – will be divided with a new focus on solidarity. A greater proportion of funds than ever before will go to UEFA Europa League participants thus decreasing the gap analogy between them and the UEFA Champions League clubs from 4,5 to 3,3.

Participation bonuses for European Cups have changed. The news ones are as follows (in parentheses, the sums for 2012-2015):

UEFA Champions League

Play-offs: 2 million euros for teams who qualify / 3 million euros for those who get eliminated (2,1 million euros for every team)

Group stage participation: 12 million euros (8,6 million euros)

Bonus for points: 1, 5 million euros for each victory / 0,5 million euros for draw (1 million euros and 0,5 million euros)

Round of 16: 5,5 million euros (3,5 million euros)

Quarter-finals: 6 million euros (3,9 million euros)

Semi-finals: 7 million euros (4,9 million euros)

Final: 10,5 million euros for the finalist / 15 million euros for the winner (6,5 million euros and 10,5 million euros)

Marketpool: 482,9 million euros (430 million euros)

UEFA Europa League

Group stage participation: 2,4 million euros (1,3 million euros)

Bonus for points: 360.000 euros for each victory / 120.000 euros for draw (200.000 euros and 100.000 euros respectively)

Bonus for standings: 500.000 euros for 1st place of group, 250.000 euros for 2nd place (400.000 euros and 200.000 euros respectively)

Round of 32: 500.000 euros (200.000 euros)

Round of 16: 750.000 euros (350.000 euros)

Quarter-finals: 1 million euros (450.000 euros)

Semi-finals: 1,5 million euros (1 million euros)

Final: 3,5 million euros for the finalist and 6,5 million euros for the winner (2,5 million euros and 5 million euros respectively)

Market pool: 152,4 million euros (92 million euros)

UEFA Super Cup

3 million euros for the loser and 4 million euros for the winner (2,2 mil. and 3 million euros respectively)