June 15 – The European Club Association (ECA) held a boarding meeting in Miami last Friday, ahead of the kick off of the Club World Cup on Saturday.
After the meeting ECA board members and the 11 ECA member clubs that will play in the tournament met with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his closest FIFA apparatchiks, plus Conmebol president Alejandro Dominguez in what was described as “a high-level gathering with key global stakeholders”.
Concacaf, whose market FIFA are living, playing in and now dictating were too busy to attend – they were locked up in delivering their own Gold Cup national team competition that FIFA has programmed its fledgling and controversial Club world Cup expansion against.
The World Leagues Association were also noticeable by their exclusion – something they are used to with the current FIFA administration. And of course no-one thought to ask the players’ reps who FIFA get free for all their competitions as they are paid by others.
FIFA wants a big piece of the global club market and to do that they need to eat a big chunk of UEFA’s commercial lunch. The ECA, under Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, the most conflicted executive in world football with his various big boss positions from media to club to ECA, their commercial hook up with UEFA and their influence on the UEFA board, looks like it could deliver it.
The ECA, which has now ballooned to more than 770 members, discussed a range of issues at its board meeting, including a review of the outstanding success of UEFA’s new club competition league formats which have increased the number of their clubs participating and put more money into their club foodchain.
Particular attention was paid to “the continued growth and success of the UEFA Conference League, which provides competitive opportunities for more ECA member clubs, and the upcoming 2025/26 women’s club season, which will include a new UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) format”, said the ECA.
As they should as their membership is suddenly huge compared to their G-14 big club origins of 1998 to 2008.
But then the attention focuses to FIFA whose Club World Cup has nothing to do with stimulating the club game but everything to do with pandering to an elite group of clubs that can be bought off – the clubs that still run the ECA un Al-Khelifi.
What is particularly concerning about the meeting is that there is no transparency (there never is with anything FIFA does these days).
“FIFA presented an overview of the competition, outlining key aspects of the tournament format, operational planning and broader ambitions for the event. ECA have collaborated closely with FIFA…,” said the ECA press release.
So what are these ‘broader ambitions’ FIFA is planning and should it have been phrased as ‘secret ambitions’ as it seems FIFA has already moved beyond the quadrennial 32-team Club World Cup plan that would not have made it to the start line without the intervention of Saudi money.
“ECA is delighted to be in Miami this week, bringing together senior leaders from club and international football and supporting the new FIFA Club World Cup. We are long-standing partners of FIFA and, together, we are committed to driving forward a strategy that will support the growth of men’s and women’s club football globally,” said Al-Khelaifi.
“ECA has been supportive of this tournament from the beginning. We believe that the FIFA Club World Cup will become a landmark competition, and can deliver real benefits for all clubs, with an expected $250 million in solidarity for non-participating clubs. We wish President Infantino and his administration every success in the delivery of this first edition here in the United States.”
To be frank $250 million is chump change on a global scale for the non-participating chumps in this FIFA tournament that is pinned on them.
Infantino was at his circuitous best claiming to have bought stability to the world’s club game (how, when and where?????)
“I was delighted to address the European Club Association and their Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi on the eve of the kick-off of the historic FIFA Club World Cup,” said Infantino.
“We signed the Memorandum of Understanding with ECA in 2023 until 2030, and it has brought stability to the game as we have been striking a balance between club and national team football all over the world.
“As with the FIFA World Cup for national teams in Uruguay in 1930, this is a landmark tournament for club football, with so many players, teams and countries ready to shine on the global stage. It’s historic, and together, we made this incredible FIFA Club World Cup happen.”
Only just. And whether this is good history or bad history only time will tell. What it will do is make an already wealthy group of clubs phenomenally more wealthy from a competition that is essentially an end-of-season commercial warm down that few had wanted but for which the ECA looks like becoming FIFA’s flag waving champion.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1750051428labto1750051428ofdlr1750051428owedi1750051428sni@n1750051428osloh1750051428cin.l1750051428uap1750051428