Brussels, 9 July 2018 – The Sports Intergroup, led by MEPs Santigo, Fisas, Marc Tarabella and Bogdan Wenta met representatives from the European Leagues, the Association which gathers 32 professional football leagues in our continent and which promotes competitive balance, sporting merit and solidarity as key pillars for the good governance of professional football in Europe.

The meeting, held in an informal and cooperative spirit, was also attended by Tibor Navracsics (European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport) while the European Leagues’ delegation was led by Jacco Swart (CEO Dutch Eredivisie), on behalf of the European Leagues’ President Lars-Christer Olsson, and integrated by Presidents and executives from Spanish LaLiga, the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, French LFP, Liga Portugal and Belgian Pro League.

The European Leagues had the opportunity to express their concerns regarding the mounting lack of competitive balance in European Club Football which is mainly caused by a disruptive revenue distribution model created by the recent reform of European Club Competitions which will enter info force as from the upcoming 2018/2019 season.

The Leagues’ representatives stressed their responsibility to promote and safeguard the competitive balance at domestic level which drives the passion of millions of fans all across Europe. The European Leagues reiterated that all clubs, not just a few, must have the possibility to compete at the highest levels and reinforced how competitive balance represents an essential component of football competitions since it ensures that all the clubs can compete against each other while ensuring that all clubs and all their supporters can keep their football dream alive.

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