EUROPE’S biggest clubs have launched another money-grabbing bid by demanding MORE European club matches – and fewer internationals.
The European Clubs Association board, which includes Arsenal’s Ivan Gazidis and Ed Woodward of Manchester United, came out fighting after a two-day meeting in Warsaw.
And the 220 ECA members wants to expand the Champions League and Europa League to give more matches guaranteed – and more cash.
SunSport revealed yesterday how the four English sides in next season’s Champions League are all set for pay-outs in excess of £70m with Manchester City potentially earning £148m if they go all the way.
But other European clubs, jealous of the financial success of the Premier League, want to revamp club football all over again.
Juventus President Andrea Agnelli, the current head of the ECA, has already outlined plans which would effectively see domestic leagues become B-team midweek tournaments.
The Prem big guns are unlikely to back that stance but all members signed up to a statement which said: “The model that emerges for the Uefa club competitions post-2024 should aim to strengthen the value of the competitions, while increasing the overall number of participating clubs and a greater certainty of matches for all.”
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ECA chiefs agreed the international fixture calendar, devised by Fifa, “needs modernising”, arguing for a “review” of the number of national team games, major tournaments and “a re-balancing between European and domestic club competitions”.
That was a direct challenge to both Fifa and Uefa and Agnelli added: “As clubs, we are the sole stakeholder taking entrepreneurial risks.
“As such, it is essential that the ECA is at the heart and fully involved in shaping the decisions which will determine the game’s future.”
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