A busier international calendar, but more money for the clubs: FIFA renewed its agreement with the powerful European Club Association (ECA) until 2030 on Monday, an important step when it comes to expanding its competitions. Signed at the 29th ECA General Assembly in Budapest, this protocol “strengthens the relationship” between the two organisations, “bringing long-term stability to national and club football”, welcome the two organisations.
“Today is a historic day for football clubs of Europe and around the world.” – ECA Chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi
ECA signs renewed Memorandum of Understanding with FIFA until 2030, full statement here: https://t.co/qqcG23UJKT#WeAreECA#HeartofFooball
— ECA (@ECAEurope) March 27, 2023
In concrete terms, the clubs that make their internationals available will see FIFA’s compensation jump to 355 million dollars (329 million euros) from the 2026 World Cup, the first to go from 32 to 48 selections, against 209 million. dollars (193 million euros) for the 2018 and 2022 editions. In return, the European clubs, which employ almost all of the best players on the planet, undertake to “comply until 2030 with the international calendar of matches”, approved by the FIFA executive on March 14.
Quadrennial “Club World Cup”
This support promises to be crucial for the boss of world football, Gianni Infantino, re-elected on March 16 without opposition until 2027, and who plans to extend the grip of Fifa both on football selections and on the club soccer. In addition to the extension of the Men’s World Cup to 48 teams, he thus intends to introduce a quadrennial “Club World Cup” with 32 teams from 2025, which will be added to an annual game between the winner of the Champions League and that of a mini -intercontinental tournament.
But if this new club competition displeases leagues like UEFA, who deplore the saturation of the calendar and the increased risk of injury, the ECA brought it its “support” on Monday, as well as the creation of a future Women’s Club World Cup. The agreement signed in Budapest “recognizes the central role of clubs in world football and guarantees that they are properly represented in the decision-making processes on matters that concern them”, underlined Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, boss of the ECA, of Paris SG and the media group BeIN.
The Qatari leader also announced that Fifa and ECA were going to “deepen their working relations” on the new Club World Cup, “including at the level of the sporting and commercial aspects of the 2025 edition” and the “management rights” of subsequent editions, like the co-management by ECA and UEFA of European club competitions.