Battle for future of European football intensifies with Belgian club barred from ECA
The Guardian The Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise were blocked from renewing their European Club Association (ECA) membership after signing up to a new body that represents small and medium-sized teams, the Guardian has been told.
Saint-Gilloise were informed this year that their role in the nascent Union of European Clubs (UEC) would violate statutes drawn up by the ECA, a far larger organisation that Uefa legitimises as the sole entity representing clubs interests. In effect it meant they were thrown out. It is an example of deep fault lines developing in the continental game as teams beyond the elite call for a greater say in the sports future direction.
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In September 2022 Saint-Gilloise, a Brussels-based success story who reached last seasons Europa League quarter-finals after progressing from the lower divisions, became members of the ECA network. It is the lowest tier of membership, essentially giving them a voice in the room and access to the ECAs wider resources but no voting rights. After qualifying for this seasons competition and attaining Belgiums third-highest Uefa coefficient they were invited to become ordinary members in the ECAs 2023-2027 cycle. But upon disclosing their membership of the UEC, which launched in April, they were frozen out.
