The Professional Football Strategy Council (PFSC) met yesterday at the House of European Football in Nyon to discuss a variety of matters with a special emphasis placed on FIFA’s plans for a revamped Club World Cup and a new global Nations League.

UEFA, ECA and European Leagues were adamant that the current proposals are unacceptable as they stand. They were of the unequivocal view that any decision on potential new competitions can only be made as part of an agreed framework for the international match calendar post-2024. Furthermore, all related sporting and commercial matters must be fully disclosed and discussed amongst professional football stakeholders beforehand.

The PFSC was also presented with key findings of the European Club Footballing Landscape Benchmarking Report 2017 which outlined the positive effects of Financial Fair Play across clubs in Europe. The report highlights the good financial health of European club football, with the 700 top-division clubs having generated together the first bottom-line profit in history at more than €600m.

The PFSC comprises elected representatives of the four main stakeholder groups involved in European professional football: the clubs, via the European Club Association (ECA); the leagues, via European Leagues; the players, via FIFPro Division Europe; and UEFA, as the football governing body at European level. The body discusses issues of strategic importance for professional football in Europe and advises the UEFA Executive Committee accordingly.

(UEFA)