The transfer system and fixture calendar have been top of the agenda at this week’s European Club Association general assembly in Athens.
Senior representatives of almost all of European football’s biggest clubs were present.
Among the Premier League figures were Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano and Manchester United counterpart Jean-Claude Blanc as well as Newcastle’s Darren Eales despite his recent cancer diagnosis.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin and ECA chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who is also president of Paris St-Germain, were working closely together to confirm their organisations’ joint partnership will extend until 2033.
But as with any conference of this nature, it is the stuff that gets spoken about behind closed doors that is the most crucial.
For this general assembly, two topics were key – the congested match calendar, which Ceferin addressed in his key note speech, and the recent court decision around former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Lassana Diarra.
‘No appetite for cutting games or structures’
Even though Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango and World Leagues general secretary Jerome Perlemuter spoke passionately on the fringes about their opposition to the current expansion programme and forthcoming legal fight, the most noise came via Ceferin, Al-Khelaifi and Bayern Munich chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen, who all took a harder line with Rodri’s suggestion of a possible strike.
They also all agreed there was no more room for any more games, despite having launched the expanded competitions, and player welfare was an issue.
However, it was pointed out by ECA chief executive Charlie Marshall, there was no appetite for “cutting games and structures”. Talks, he said, would continue.
Marshall didn’t say this himself, but the ECA will be central in them.
‘Any change to transfer system impacts smaller clubs’
Last week’s Diarra ruling found that some of Fifa’s transfer rules restricted the “free movement” of players in certain circumstances and will need re-drafting.
Most people at the ECA event want to digest the legal verdict and what it means before taking a public stance.
Some at the conference predicted the end of the transfer system as we know it.
Someone else said signing deals off may become a court matter rather than involve Fifa.
All accepted any significant change would be bad news for small and medium sized clubs, who depend on transfer income as a major revenue stream, and that while the elite players may benefit, many further down the food chain would be adversely affected.
“It is concerning some people are starting to interpret this case this way,” said Legia Warsaw president Dariusz Mioduski. “If it was true, it would be a terrible thing for the whole eco-system.
“We don’t think it will have the effect some people will suggest. It is early and we need to assess but we don’t see a reason to panic.”
Super League rebels Juventus back in the fold
Launched in 2008 with 137 members, the ECA had been growing in power and influence before the European Super League concept erupted in April 2021. Its chairman at that time was Andrea Agnelli, who also ran Juventus.
When Agnelli and the other 11 clubs tried to launch the Super League that fateful Sunday, if the other significant ECA voices – specifically PSG and the German clubs – had not stepped up, Uefa would have been in big trouble.
But PSG remained. So did Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Al-Khelaifi took over as ECA chairman from Agnelli and calmly doused the inferno caused by the Super League project.
He helped guide the ECA through an exceptionally difficult time.
The ECA’s membership has swelled to more than 700. It is now recognised as the sole negotiating voice for the clubs. And the clubs, as Al-Khelaifi pointed out in the closing news conference, have the players as “assets”.
Without their support, nothing gets done.
It is why Fifa had to get the ECA’s backing before it could launch the Club World Cup.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri may be among a number of top players not happy about the 32-team post-season tournament, but Soriano is part of the ECA’s executive Board. At an administrative level, City have given it their approval.
At this particular gathering, Juventus, one of the three remaining Super League outcasts with Barcelona and Real Madrid, were welcomed back into the fold.