1 October: European Football Clubs (EFCs) have introduced governance reforms in an attempt to make the organization more democratic.
Led by Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the EFC has become an important part of the European game, having been a driving force in reforming the Champions League and supporting a 32-team Club World Cup.
However, the organization has often been accused of protecting the interests of elite clubs to the detriment of hundreds of its own members who do not have a vote in the EFC.
To correct this democratic imbalance, EFC at its general assembly in Copenhagen, presented a series of reforms: the board has been restructured to include 33 club representatives instead of the current 35, but all with voting power. A minimum of five and a maximum of seven board members will represent the associated clubs.
EFC membership has grown to over 900 clubs. However, even with the new reforms, the vast majority of clubs will remain non-voting members. Even in the board, the associate members will be far less in number.
Ajax’s Menno Geelen, Lille’s Olivier Létang, Galatasaray’s Dursun Özbek, Hibernian’s Daniel Barnett and Ludogorets 1945’s Alexander Alexandrov were elected to represent their respective subdivisions on the board. Subdivision 1, home to the biggest clubs, retains a 50 percent voting share.
The EFC stressed that it took eighteen months of consultation to reach a consensus on the reforms. At a press conference, EFC board member Dariusz Mioduski, owner and president of Polish club Legia Warszawa, claimed the reforms were “fatiguing”.
However, with so many clubs still excluded from exercising democratic voting rights, the EFC could still remain the fiefdom of the big clubs.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at (email protected)