European Clubs Association
 |
|
| Formation | January 2008 |
|---|---|
| Type | Sports organization |
| Headquarters |
 Nyon, Switzerland |
|
Membership
|
220 clubs |
 Andrea Agnelli
|
|
| Website | http://www.ecaeurope.com/ |
The European Club Association (ECA) is a body representing the interests of professional association football clubs in UEFA. It is the sole such body recognised by UEFA, and has member clubs in each UEFA member association. It was formed in 2008 to replace the G-14, which comprised a small number of elite clubs and was unrecognised by UEFA. The ECA's mission statement is "to create a new, more democratic governance model that truly reflects the key role of the clubs".
Formed on the dissolution of the G-14 group in January 2008, as from the 2013-15 membership cycle, the European Club Association represents 220 clubs, made up of 106 Ordinary Members and 114 Associated Members, with at least one from each of the 53 national associations. The precise number of Ordinary Member clubs from each member association will be established every two years at the end of the UEFA season on the basis of the UEFA ranking of its member associations according to the following principles:
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was the acting chairman before officially being elected chairman of the ECA when its 103 members met for the first time on the 7–8 July 2008 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
In addition to replacing the G-14, which was dissolved in favour of the ECA on 15 February 2008, the new ECA also replaces UEFA's European Club Forum (of which Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was also chairman). The European Club Forum utilized a similar membership selection process as the European Club Association, with 102 members picked every two years.
On March 2018 ,the European Club Association has announced the provisional suspension of PAOK soccer club, whose president, Russian businessman, Ivan Savvidis invaded the field during a Greek Super league match. Savvidis took to the field to protest against a referee's call while apparently carrying a gun during the league match between PAOK and AEK Athens. "In light of this, and in accordance with the ECA Statutes, the ECA Executive Board unanimously decided to suspend, with immediate effect, PAOK FC as member of the European Club Association," the European body explained in a statement on its website. The suspension will be in force "until further notice" as the ECA will consider the next steps in its upcoming general assembly, due to be held within two weeks in Rome. "The ECA exists to protect the integrity and regularity of competitions and matches as well as the sporting values and principles on which European football is based," the association added.
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