The Peninsula
The European Club Association (ECA), led by its Chairman Nasser Ghanim Al Khelaifi, yesterday announced that it will accept requests made by nine clubs to retain ECA membership, completing the reintegration of the breakaway clubs into European football for the 2019-2023 ECA membership cycle.
Six English clubs - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham - will be members of ECA again along with AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid.
After an exhaustive process of re-engagement by the clubs and re-assessment by ECA over recent months, the Association's Executive Board took into consideration the clubs’ acknowledgement that the so-called European Super League (ESL) project was not in the interests of the wider football community and their publicly communicated decisions to abandon the Project completely.
The decision of the ECA and its chairman Al Khelaifi marks the end of a regrettable and turbulent episode for European football and aligns with ECA’s relentless focus to strengthen unity in European football. The ECA can now proceed with renewed unity and solidarity to continue the important work needed to stabilise and develop European club football – at a time when this is needed the most.
Twelve founding Super League clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus quit the ECA in April when they reneged on previous commitments to UEFA to launch the League.
The nine clubs now reintegrated into the ECA collapsed the project when they abandoned the Super League amid a backlash from governing bodies and supporters - particularly in England.
The re-joining clubs have already agreed to a financial settlement with UEFA, accepting fines as an acknowledgement of wrongdoing for trying to split from existing competition structures. They made a combined payment of €15m ($18m) and will give up 5% of revenue for one season playing in Europe.
In a move to prevent them deploying the Super League threat again, the clubs have also agreed to be fined €100m if they seek again to play in an unauthorised competition or €50m if they breach any other commitments to UEFA as part of the settlement.