The new European club football representative body was presented to Bulgarian clubs at a meeting with club representatives in Sofia
SOFIA, JUNE 24, 2023 – The Union of European Clubs (UEC), the new European club football representative body, was presented to Bulgarian clubs at a meeting with club representatives in Sofia.
The UEC was recently launched in Brussels and aims to gather the vast majority of 1,500 professional football clubs who are currently not represented in the decision-making processes.
“The Union of European Clubs fills a massive void and will champion the interests of the clubs that form the foundation of European football,” said the UEC co-founder Dennis Gudasic who also serves as Executive Director of Zagreb’s Lokomotiva FC. “It is crucial that clubs from Bulgaria gain a voice and be part of these new positive changes to how clubs are represented. Today’s meeting gave us a good insight into the challenges faced by Bulgarian clubs and we look forward to working with our new Bulgarian friends and members in the coming period.”
By giving a voice to the true heart of European football the UEC aims to create a fairer and more sustainable football ecosystem.
Atanas Karaivanov, President of the Bulgarian Professional League, was also present at the event and said “We are very optimistic about this new European club representative body. I wish them success, which will be for the good of all of us as members of the European football family. Football clubs need to be heard and treated equally. Size should not matter. Together with the European Leagues the UEC should play an important role in the preservation of football at all levels.”
Pavel Kolev, the CEO of Lokomotiv Plovdiv, added: “Our meeting today is very important. If we want Bulgarian football to progress, we must be in the room when decisions which can affect our progress are being made. The new Union of European Clubs offers us this opportunity, to be part of the process which can help solving an important problem in football governance by truly representing clubs. It is especially satisfying that Lokomotiv 1926 Plovdiv was amongst UEC the founding clubs present at the recent launch event in Brussels”.
The first UEC gathering with clubs in Bulgaria was also attended by Tasko Taskov, representative of Lokomotiv Plovdiv 1926 present at the launch event in Brussels in April, who pointed out that “UEC gives additional opportunities to smaller clubs to communicate to each other, share experience and knowledge, and to develop new marketing tools attracting sponsorships through reaching larger audiences.”
During the meeting the UEC presented their complete alignment with UEFA “as the guardians of the game if we want solidarity and sporting merit as key principles. This Solidarity is so important for Bulgarian football. We must protect it. The UEC is as a valuable partner for UEFA, helping the governing body fulfil its role as the protector of the game. Recent events like the attempt to create a Super League have confirmed the weaknesses in the current system as to how clubs are represented at the stakeholders’ table. It is necessary to create fair and more clearly defined representational scope and responsibilities, reduce the concentration of power, and focus on creating a sustainable financial environment for clubs. The UEC believes this is achievable”.
