Association of European Clubs

The Association of European Clubs, founded in January 2008 after the dissolution of the G-14 group and the UEFA Forum of European Clubs, chaired by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge , ^[2] began its official work after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between UEFA and January 21, 2008 ECA. On July 7-8, on the occasion of the 1st ECA General Assembly at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was officially appointed as the Chairman of the ECA. The Association of European Clubs has adopted a membership structure and selection process similar to those used in the European Clubs Forum, which consisted of 102 members, elected every two years. ^[3]

When the Association of European Clubs was established in January 2008, it was agreed that the Transitional Council of the ECA will represent the ECA and its 16 founding members until the next meeting of the General Assembly at the end of the season, when a new Executive Committee will be elected. It was decided that the ECA Committee would include only eleven members, in addition to the four representatives appointed by the Executive Committee to the UEFA Professional Football Strategy Council. The Association of European Clubs will also provide half of the members to the UEFA club competition committee. ^[4] As of the beginning of the membership cycle for 2013-2015 The Association of European Clubs represents the interests of 214 clubs, including 105 regular members and 109 associate members, with at least one representative from 53 national associations. The exact number of clubs that are regular members from each member association is determined every two years at the end of the UEFA season based on the UEFA ranking of member associations according to the following principles:

Since September 2013, after the General Assembly, the ECA Executive Committee has included: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Chairman; Bayern Munich), Umberto Gandini (First Vice-Chairman; Milan), Pedro Lopez Jimenez (Second Vice-Chairman; Real Madrid), Eugene Giner (third vice-chairman, CSKA Moscow), Ivan Gazidisa (Arsenal), Andrea Agnelli (Juventus), Jean-Michel Ola (Lyon), Theodoros Giannikos (Olympiacos), Edwin van der Sar (Ajax), Michel Vershueren (Anderlecht ) The Association of European Clubs consists of numerous bodies, including working groups, expert commissions and committees. Among them are the following:

Working Groups

Since the establishment of the ECA, Working Groups have been an important component of the organizational structure of the ECA. They actively provide advice and support to the ECA Executive Committee and ECA representatives participating in committees or working groups in UEFA, FIFA and the European Union. Their contribution is key and strategic to the association. In addition, they manage the interaction of members and communication in the organization on key issues, problems and opportunities. ^[5] All working groups consist of clubs, which are regular and associate members from all four divisions. There are five working groups in the ECA: Competition Working Group; Financial working group; Institutional Relations Working Group; Marketing and Communications Working Group and Youth Working Group. ^[5]

Commission of Experts

Like the Working Groups of the Commission of Experts and the committees provide support to the Executive Committee, and they include experts from various clubs of the ECA. The members of the Commission of Experts and the Committee are appointed by the ECA Executive Committee; they function as advisory bodies. Currently, the following Expert Commissions and Committees operate in the ECA: Legal Advice Commission; Commission on statutory matters; Fair Play Financial Commission; Social Dialogue Committee and Women's Football Committee.

In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed by UEFA in 2008, the Association of European Clubs was recognized as the only body representing the interests of clubs at the European level. As part of the Memorandum of Understanding, UEFA also agreed every four years to distribute the amount received after the European Championships to the national associations that pass them on to their clubs, which contributed to the success of the European Championships. The amount available for distribution after Euro 2008 is € 43.5 million ($ 62.8 million), with approximately € 4,000 per day per player payments. ^[2] As part of the planned actions, UEFA and FIFA also made several commitments to the clubs, including making financial contributions for the participation of players in the European Championship and World Cup, after approval by the relevant authorities. ^[6] On March 22, 2012, a new Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the ECA and UEFA for the period 2012–2018 on the occasion of the Regular XXXVI UEFA Congress. The memorandum was signed by ECA President Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and UEFA President Michel Platini. This document lays the foundation for a fruitful relationship between European clubs and the governing body in European football, reflecting an improved balance between national teams and club football. The new Memorandum of Understanding replaces the 2008 Memorandum and is valid until May 30, 2018. ^{[7] The} four main topics of the new Memorandum of Understanding are:

The international calendar of matches, the most important topic for discussion, obliges clubs to release players from the national team on specified days. The international match calendar is based on a specific proposal put forward by the ECA and created by the efforts of a special working group including representatives, EPFL (Association of European Professional Football Leagues), FIFPro (International Federation of Professional Football Associations), and UEFA. The recommendations of the working group, approved by FIFA, offer a more balanced system of 9 two-match games for 2 years without friendly matches, which is more beneficial for both clubs and national associations. ^[7]

The club’s protection program, which was initially launched at the expense of UEFA to cover EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, later began to be implemented at the expense of FIFA, following the approval of the FIFA Congress in Budapest in May 2012. ^[8] It currently covers all clubs that release players to participate in Group A national matches, including the FIFA commitment to provide a football tournament during the Olympic Games. ^[7] The club protection program provides compensation for clubs in the event that players from a national team of Group A participating in matches for their national association are injured and temporarily completely disabled due to personal injuries sustained in an accident. Players are insured for a maximum of one year from the day of the period from the moment of injury to the beginning of insurance payments (= date of injury + 27 days) and for a maximum amount of € 7,500,000. ^[9]

European Championship Compensation Distribution

As stipulated in the 2008 Memorandum of Understanding between the ECA and UEFA, the Executive Committee agreed to provide € 43.5 million for UEFA EURO 2008 in Switzerland / Austria and € 55 million for UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland / Ukraine. ^[10] After the amendment of the Memorandum of Understanding, the compensation for clubs releasing players to the UEFA European Championship in Poland / Ukraine has increased to 100 million euros and will increase to 150 million euros on the occasion of the 2016 European Championships in France. ^[7] Due to the increased compensation received by clubs, UEFA and the ECA have developed a new compensation mechanism. The main goal of this distribution mechanism is to achieve a fair and balanced system, provide higher compensation for all clubs compared to previous championships and ensure that more clubs receive a share in compensation. During the European Championship 2012 in Poland / Ukraine, the total amount of 100 million euros was divided between the final game (60%) and the qualification stage (40%). This new distribution mechanism has led 578 clubs to receive different amounts of compensation from UEFA for releasing players in qualifying and final matches. The number of clubs receiving compensation has increased significantly compared to UEFA EURO 2008. ^[7]

Guide

Finally, the Memorandum of Understanding also provided clubs with a greater influence on the decision-making processes at UEFA. In the future, clubs are guaranteed that their opinions are taken into account and that no decision will be made directly affecting club football without their prior consent. ECA representatives from the Executive Committee are appointed to the UEFA Club Competition Committee and the UEFA Professional Football Strategy Council. ^[7]

Social and Social Responsibility Report

In September 2011, the Association of European Clubs published its first Report on Public and Social Responsibility. This publication has been prepared to present the beneficial work of European football clubs in the area of ​​public and social responsibility. The report is a collection of projects on public and social responsibility of 54 clubs - members of the ECA. All projects show that football, and sport in general, plays an important social and educational role.

ECA Legal Bulletin

Since 2011, the Association of European Clubs has been publishing an annual Legal Bulletin, which addresses the main recurring legal issues that club representatives face. A legal bulletin is being prepared to provide support and advice to clubs on how to deal with specific problems related to compensation of trainings, the work of clubs with administrative issues, how to deal with property rights of third parties, etc.

ECA Report on European Youth Academies

In September 2012, the ESA published the Report on Youth Academies in Europe, ^[11] which is a measure of the industry and shows the different approaches and philosophies of youth academies in Europe.

ECA Club Management Guide

The ECA Club Management Guide consists of sections with descriptions alternating with examples, key lessons, and specific examples gathered through numerous interviews, conversations, and club visits. This approach makes it possible to present the maximum number of examples from the daily life of clubs, which at the same time serve as a source of knowledge for the exchange of experience in order to perform individual analysis, as well as giving clubs the opportunity to learn from each other. This “combined” approach is the main way of presenting material in this Guide.

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