MIAMI (UNITED STATES) (ITALPRESS) – The European Club Association in Miami. The association that includes the teams of the Old Continent met in the Florida city on the eve of the Club World Cup.
Executive Committee meeting to the agenda “close the 2024/25 European football season, assess key developments in the international football landscape and discuss priority issues for the organisation and its over 770 member clubs ahead of a historic summer for world football. The discussion included a detailed update on the positive impact of the new formats of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference. The new League phases have seen an increased number of clubs participate, with 15 new clubs competing and 144 unique matches. Competition on the pitch has increased – with more goals scored, on average every 90 seconds, and 3 goals per match – and, as a result, has attracted record attendances, with a 71% increase in views across both competitions. The ExCo discussed in particular the continued growth and success of the Conference League, which offers competitive opportunities to a greater number of ECA member clubs, and the upcoming 2025/26 women’s club football season, which will include a new format for the Women’s Champions League and the long-awaited introduction of the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup”.
There was also talk of an increasingly congested calendar: “The ECA and its clubs are participating in the UEFA player workload study”. Following the executive committee meeting, the ECA and FIFA organised a meeting with key global stakeholders, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Conmebol Alejandro Dominguez, FIFA’s global football development chief Arsène Wenger and representatives of the confederations and all 11 ECA member clubs that will be competing in the tournament.
“The ECA has been working closely with FIFA to deliver benefits to all clubs from the tournament, including a planned allocation of $250 million in solidarity funds for teams that are not competing in the competition”.
“ECA is delighted to be in Miami and support the new Club World Cup,” said PSG and Association President Nasser Al–Khelaïfi. “We are a long-standing partner of FIFA and, together, we are committed to a strategy that will support the growth of men’s and women’s club football globally. ECA has supported this tournament from its inception. We believe it will become a historic competition and will bring tangible benefits to all clubs, with an expected contribution of $250 million in solidarity for non-participating clubs. We wish President Infantino and his administration every success in organizing this first edition here in the United States.”
“We are proud to work alongside our participating member clubs to help shape the success of this tournament and to ensure that the embedded solidarity commitments benefit clubs across Europe and all regions, in support of the continued development of our sport,” concluded Al-Khelaifi, while FIFA No. 1 Gianni Infantino added: “We signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the ECA from 2023 to 2030, an agreement that has brought stability to football, as we have found a balance between club and national team football around the world. As with the Uruguay National Team World Cup in 1930, this is a historic tournament for clubs, with so many players, teams and nations ready to shine on the world stage.”
– Photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS)
