Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of the European Club Association (ECA) and president of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has expressed a message of unity at the latest UEFA Convention on the Future of European Football.
Al-Khelaifi, who is currently serving his second term on the UEFA Executive Committee, reaffirmed UEFA’s vision to work together as ‘one family’ to ensure more open and inclusive European football competitions in the future.
“Since we last met, the ECA has contributed greatly to the stability, togetherness and growth of European football. It is easy to forget how far we have come,” said Al-Khelaifi. “We represent nearly 250 clubs – small, medium and big – and the collective unity of our clubs could not be broken. Today we are stronger than ever. We are one family, and this helps us find solutions to any challenges we face.”
Al-Khelaifi repeatedly rejected invitations for PSG to join the European Super League when it was controversially launched in April last year. The ESL plans were shelved after only 24 hours later owing to huge backlash from the European footballing community, although A22 Sports Management, the company behind the breakaway concept, has recently attempted to reignite the derailed plans.
However, Al-Khelaifi believes that the ECA’s growing relationship with UEFA underlines both parties’ joint commitment to help football grow in the interests of everyone involved.
“The future of European football needs to consider the interests of all stakeholders,” he added. “All leagues, all clubs, the national associations, the fans, and all the communities that need our help. We need to particularly think more of the fans,” said Al-Khelaifi.
“Football is a bond between clubs and players, between players and fans, between fans and communities. It is an invisible spirit that can never be broken, and the ECA will make sure it never is. We also don’t need to tear things down to reform. We can achieve great positive change from within the system – UEFA and the ECA have shown this already in the past year,” he added.
Al-Khelaifi’s stance has been illustrated by an immediate upturn in financial stability returning to European football following the coronavirus pandemic. New financial sustainability rules have also been enforced, which have costly sporting and financial sanctions associated to clubs assessed to be flouting the regulations.
Meanwhile, UEFA and the ECA have launched a joint venture which has already created huge commercial opportunities in France, the UK, the US and Holland, underlining the current growth of European Football.
The UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League also continue to grow in popularity, with an agreement in place – put forward by the ECA – for new competition formats to be introduced post-2024.
In his address, which drew rapturous applause from the UEFA Convention delegates, Al-Khelaifi rejected the notion that the current Champions League format does not live up to fans’ expectations.
“We hear that the Champions League isn’t exciting enough, and that European football is completely broken,” continued Al-Khelaifi. “But they continue to play in the tournaments, I don’t understand. We hear that the Champions League isn’t competitive enough. But many big clubs did not qualify from the group stages. This could have been my team – that’s football. No club has a divine right to win.”
He concluded: “I am not saying everything is perfect. But at the ECA, we are proud about how we have brought European football together since we last met. We must never rest. This is just the beginning – there is so much more to do, in partnership with all the stakeholders.”
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