European Leagues Board sets priorities for the coming year as it addresses critical issues relating to the development of football
-
Board focus on ensuring critical areas including governance, the International Match Calendar (IMC), distribution models and the Transfer System continue to serve the interests of European Leagues members and football’s wider eco-system.
-
Discussions also focused around membership, EU engagement and business development.
-
Programme agreed for the 52nd European Leagues General Assembly to be held in Sofia, Bulgaria 10-12 March.
European Leagues Board members met virtually for their 2026 kick-off meeting. The meeting enabled senior leaders representing Leagues from across Europe to set the organisation’s focus and priorities for the upcoming year and outline and shape positioning on a number of important areas relating to the development of professional football in Europe.
Board members agreed that efforts would continue around addressing ongoing concerns relating to the long-term health of domestic football as the foundational element of the football pyramid and a central pillar on which its past and future success depends. The responsibilities and actions of international governing bodies are crucial in this respect. In particular, Board members reiterated the importance of:
-
Tackling growing financial and sporting polarisation in the game by delivering significant change to the distribution models of financial revenues from international club competitions while, in parallel, advocating for stronger cost-control and expenditure regulations. In this context, leagues carry significant expectations in relation to upcoming discussions and negotiations with UEFA and the EFC on the Revenue Distribution Model of UEFA Club Competitions for the 2027/31 Cycle. The outcome of these negotiations should lead to an enhanced distribution model affording greater guarantees and safeguards to competitive balance which is essential in delivering football of quality and key to ensuring continued fan interest on which broadcast and sponsorship revenue streams depend.
-
Implementing good governance standards and more inclusive stakeholder mechanisms across all decision-making relating to international football. FIFA must consider carefully and through meaningful and inclusive collaboration with stakeholders its approach to regulating both the International Match Calendar (IMC) and Transfer System to ensure balance across football’s eco-system. In this context, the legal action being pursued in relation to the regulatory framework governing the International Match Calendar is a necessary step in ensuring FIFA practices comply with EU law. This should allow for the emergence of a new governance model in which meaningful stakeholder inclusion and collective decision-making processes become the norm and set new standards for international football.
-
Safeguarding the value of the professional game through impactful policy and legislation at EU level to better protect Intellectual Property Rights including the fight against online piracy. This is critical to ensuring that professional football continues to strengthen its social function by supporting the development of football throughout the pyramid and enhancing social cohesion in communities across Europe.
Finally, Board members were provided with an update on internal governance, membership matters and work relating to business development that will be addressed at the upcoming annual European Leagues Commercial and Business Development meeting to be held on 3rd March in Dusseldorf and which will be co-hosted with the German Bundesliga.
Following the conclusion of the meeting European Leagues President Claudius Schäfer stated: “The meeting allowed for a highly engaged and productive discussion around our focus and objectives for the upcoming year. The coming months will be critical in shaping decisions in determining the long-term future of European football. It is why the Board is fully focused on ensuring that developments relating to such matters as the international match calendar, revenue distribution, the transfer system along with the fight against online piracy continue to serve the interests of domestic leagues and football’s wider eco-system. As a Board we are fully united and determined to work constructively with UEFA and FIFA along with other stakeholders in addressing challenges the game faces and seize opportunities that exist. This is the spirit in which we undertake our responsibility as we seek to meet the demands and expectations of fans from across the world who remain the life blood of the game.”
The Board will next meet on 11 March in Sofia, Bulgaria ahead of European League’s 52nd General Assembly.