Board to lead the new organisation to the first General Assembly planned prior to the end of 2023
The Union of European Clubs (UEC), the group created to give football clubs of all sizes a voice, today announced the initial members of its Interim Executive Board. Due to the encouraging growth in membership, this new board will assist the organisation in the next phase of development until the first General Assembly prior to year’s end.
“Following the initial kickoff event in April, the creation of the Interim Executive Board is an important and concrete step in the progress and development of the UEC. We have seen very strong interest from clubs to join the Union of European Clubs since our launch event in Brussels,” said Dennis Gudasic, UEC Founder and Executive Director of Zagreb’s Lokomotiva FC. “We’re very excited to announce the first members of our Interim Executive Board who are also among the first clubs to join the UEC.”
Representatives from the following clubs are the initial members of the UEC Interim Executive Board:
Katarina Pijetlovic, the General Secretary of the UEC, said that ”the UEC is a much-needed initiative to provide a voice to at least 92% of professional clubs who today go unheard. Europe has more than 1,500 professional football clubs, the vast majority of which have no international platform, no representation with key institutions such as UEFA, and until the formation of the UEC there was nobody to lobby on their behalf with the European Union.”
Dennis Gudasic added that the “lack of representation of non-elite clubs at institutional level has led to significant erosion in football, benefiting only elite clubs and harming the true heart of football.” Gudasic now also assumes a seat on the UEC Interim Executive Board: “It is crucial that aspiring clubs who are not represented in the current structures gain a voice and are heard,” he said.
By giving a voice to the true heart of European football, the UEC aims to create a fairer and more sustainable football ecosystem. The UEC has many common objectives with UEFA as the central governing body, but also with other stakeholders, such as European Leagues, which gathers 40 professional football leagues.
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