UEFA chief opposes staging domestic league matches abroad
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UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin speaking during the body's Congress on Feb 12.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- UEFA President Ceferin opposed hosting domestic matches abroad, warning it erodes fan loyalty and weakens connections for short-term gains.
- Ceferin stressed European football must remain an open pyramid, never closed, highlighting redistribution of over €400 million to clubs.
- FifPro Europe President David Terrier joined UEFA's executive committee with full voting rights, a "landmark development" for player representation.
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BRUSSELS – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin opposed the idea of hosting domestic matches abroad in a speech at the European body’s 50th Congress on Feb 12, saying European leagues should not risk eroding their supporters’ loyalty for short-term goals.
Ceferin, speaking a day after UEFA reached a settlement with Real Madrid that ended their legal feud over the ill-fated European Super League, also stressed the need for European football to retain a single, open pyramid.
A La Liga match between Villarreal and Barcelona was scheduled to take place in the United States, and a Serie A game between AC Milan and Como was set to be held in Australia, before their respective league authorities cancelled the plans in 2025.
Ceferin advised clubs against trading “roots for reach”.
“Domestic leagues draw their strength from their territory, their traditions and match-going fans. Exporting domestic matches abroad might serve short-term interests but it weakens connection and erodes loyalty,” the Slovenian lawyer and football administrator said.
“How do you build identity if you remove the game from its home... how do you sustain local passion if you trade it away?”
Ceferin, who has been the UEFA president since 2016, said European football “will never be closed” in an apparent reference to the proposed European Super League, which had originally proposed a model that guaranteed the participation of some of the most popular clubs.
“It is for all. And what belongs to everyone is stronger than any single force... we chose unity over fragmentation. We chose stewardship over improvisation,” he said.
“This season alone, more than €400 million (S$600 million) will be redistributed to the clubs outside of the (Champions League’s) phase. And out of that, €308 million will go to clubs that don’t participate in European competitions at all. Would this exist in a system driven only by profit? I am sure the answer is clear.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who also spoke at the UEFA Congress, congratulated the European football body and Real for resolving their legal dispute.
“Because football wins when we unite,” Infantino said.
The UEFA Congress later voted to include David Terrier, the president of FifPro Europe, in the European governing body’s executive committee with full voting rights.
The players’ union called Terrier’s inclusion a “landmark development”.
“For the first time, players are formally represented at the highest level of decision-making in European football... players are no longer outside the room. Their position is now part of a formal process,” Terrier told FifPro’s official website. REUTERS
