ℹ️ Skipped - page is already crawled
| Filter | Status | Condition | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTTP status | PASS | download_http_code = 200 | HTTP 200 |
| Age cutoff | PASS | download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH | 1 months ago |
| History drop | PASS | isNull(history_drop_reason) | No drop reason |
| Spam/ban | PASS | fh_dont_index != 1 AND ml_spam_score = 0 | ml_spam_score=0 |
| Canonical | PASS | meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed | Not set |
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6718905/2025/10/20/football-2025-big-clubs-rule/ |
| Last Crawled | 2026-03-18 05:16:52 (1 month ago) |
| First Indexed | 2025-10-20 04:31:55 (5 months ago) |
| HTTP Status Code | 200 |
| Meta Title | In football in 2025, the big clubs rule - The Athletic |
| Meta Description | A meeting of Europe's biggest clubs this month showed just who is running the global game – and the impact that could have |
| Meta Canonical | null |
| Boilerpipe Text | When you have spent 17 years stuck behind the Electrical Contractors’ Association, the Edinburgh College of Art, and the European Cockpit Association in Google’s search results for the acronym “ECA”, it probably is time for a makeover.
So, when the hundreds of delegates arrived at the European Club Association’s 32nd general assembly in Rome this month, they actually found themselves at the first general assembly of European Football Clubs, which is a good name for a lobby group that represents European football clubs.
Its new club badge-style logo was on advertising boards outside the Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria, and on cushions, partition walls and video screens inside. Under each seat in the main conference room, there was an EFC-branded holdall containing a baseball cap, a notebook and a packet of EFC alphabet pasta.
And just in case there was any doubt that this was a break from the past, there were fireworks at the pre-assembly drinks, a gala dinner at one of Rome’s most atmospheric ancient sites (complete with drone show and performance from Eurovision-winning Italian rock band Maneskin), conference speeches from industry leaders, and selfies with
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
.
More than 800 club bosses were invited and most of them accepted, as did the presidents of Concacaf, FIFA and UEFA (Victor Montagliani, Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Ceferin), plus representatives from the top domestic leagues and players’ unions.
EFC president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said he wanted to put the word “football” in the middle of the organisation’s name, just as he has put EFC in the middle of global football politics.
You still have to scroll to page four of a Google search — past Everton Football Club, the European Federation of Corrosion, and Extreme Fighting Championship — to find the EFC we are referring to here. But that is an improvement of two pages in less than a week, which suggests the algorithms have sensed the shift in football’s power structures, too.
Because make no mistake, the first EFC get-together was also a manifestation of something that has been building since a dozen of Europe’s biggest clubs quit the ECA in April 2021 to form a breakaway rival to UEFA’s Champions League,
a European Super League
: they lost that battle, but they won the war.
They wanted more games in Europe and they got them in the shape of expanded UEFA club competitions.
They wanted a bigger say in the marketing of those competitions and they got that with the creation of UC3, the EFC’s joint venture with UEFA.
They wanted more money and they are going to get that with the next cycle of media deals, which are being negotiated by the agency they pushed for (Relevent Sports, the company founded by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross
that has long sought to stage domestic league games on U.S. soil
) and not the agency UEFA had been using for more than 30 years.
Welcome to football in 2025, where the big clubs are in charge.
A (Big) Club(s) World Cup?
Football’s global governing body, FIFA, has finally worked out a way to hitch its wagon to football’s most attractive properties — the clubs — with its
revamped Club World Cup
.
EFC’s 820 clubs all noticed the £28million ($38m) the 12 European participants got just for turning up at the 32-team tournament in the United States last summer.
Chelsea, the eventual champions, earned £85million
for their summer’s work, almost six times as much as they got for winning the Conference League, and half as much as they earned for 10 months’ hard graft in the Premier League.
So the chatter in Rome was not about the tournament’s patchy attendances, high temperatures, tired players, or Donald Trump; it was about how FIFA could shoehorn in more of EFC’s grandees in 2029 and beyond.
Instead of any debate about whether we might already be playing too much football, this crowd wondered if a “play-in tournament” might suffice for the Club World Cup’s African and Asian makeweights, freeing up space to make sure the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool and Napoli are not kept out next time.
More TV money, but will 20-team leagues survive?
The discussions — in public and private — about UEFA’s revamp of its competitions followed the same path as those around the Club World Cup.
If you’re wondering whether the clubs thought there was a lack of jeopardy last season, as many fans and pundits have suggested, wonder no more: the clubs and their new commercial partner UEFA think
the Swiss model
in Europe’s premier club competitions is sweet. They love the extra TV inventory and additional matchday revenue, and they are positively giddy about the auctions for the 2027-33 rights cycle that Relevent has just started in Europe’s five biggest markets.
News of that process had leaked before the general assembly and there are clearly some in the industry who see dark clouds on the horizon — but they were just not invited to EFC’s do. Or they were and the drones, fireworks, Maneskin, Zlatan et cetera distracted them.
The Italian press, however, had been tipped off about the potential downside of Relevent delivering on its promise of a 30 per cent bump in media income from 2027 onwards. At the moment, UEFA and the clubs make €4.4billion (£3.8bn; $5.1bn) a year from TV and streaming, but the U.S.-based agency has told them it can boost that number to €6bn.
Serie A appears very worried about where that additional money will come from. It does not seem to believe the pizza will get bigger; it thinks its slice is about to get smaller. And if that happens, Italian clubs might decide the only way to maintain their slice of the slice is to reduce the number of clubs from 20 to 18, something they resisted in early 2024, when
only four clubs backed the idea
. Would it surprise you to learn that
those clubs were Milan, Inter, Juventus and Roma
?
Italy’s biggest clubs have resisted the prospect of an 18-team league
Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP
When asked by
The Athletic
if this defeatism might spread to other leagues, several delegates, all speaking anonymously to avoid being buzz-killers, pointed out that France’s Ligue 1 must regret going from 20 to 18 in 2023. All that did was remove 74 games from its media-rights inventory at a time when streamers want quantity as well as quality, as well as taking two fanbases out of the potential audience. Ligue 1 clubs are now expecting
less media income than clubs in England’s second tier
.
But that real-world example of why consolidation is not always the best response to a contracting market will not stop clubs from considering it. When given the choice between their own short-term needs and what is best for the collective, football clubs have proven time and time again that they are selfish and short-sighted.
The big clubs are just getting… bigger
There was none of that pessimism at the Cavalieri, though. Instead, the delegates, the vast majority of whom were from clubs that did not play in a UEFA competition last season, all looked and sounded delighted that UEFA’s solidarity pot — the percentage of revenue distributed to clubs who do not play in Europe’s elite club competitions — had grown to seven per cent of the total revenues.
This means that the hundreds of clubs across Europe who do not have lucrative side hustles in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League are now sharing €308million between them. Better than nothing, right? But when you compare solidarity payments to how much Paris Saint-Germain, last season’s Champions League winners and the club Al-Khelaifi runs, are banking, the impact on competitive balance is obvious.
PSG cleared €140million for their victory last May,
and then went on to reach the final of the Club World Cup, too.
PSG celebrate their Champions League win at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris on June 1
Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images
The Union of European Clubs represents about 140 clubs that are still not yet on EFC’s radar. It released research this summer that showed how the compounding effect of UEFA money has turned national leagues into one- or two-horse races across the continent, with the same handful of clubs qualifying for the UEFA top-up every year. The effect is particularly noticeable in smaller markets, where even
Conference League cheques
smash what is available domestically.
There were a few in Rome who noticed how strange it was to see so many so happy with a few extra thousand euros in solidarity payments, access to EFC legal advice and an invite to the big party. “They are applauding their own funerals,” was one cynic’s observation.
That is a bit harsh on EFC’s full-time staff, who really try to help their member clubs and can point to genuine lobbying successes, such as the expansion of the FIFA programme that compensates clubs for the release of players during international tournaments and, more recently, qualifiers.
Weekend domestic matches and games abroad
There is a reason the domestic leagues have teamed up
with the players’ unions to take legal action against FIFA
over its failure to consult on the timing of the Club World Cup. They know they are in a battle for our attention and it is the big clubs that deliver those eyeballs.
For more than a century, national leagues, played at weekends, have been the dominant delivery mechanism, be that in-person in the pre-TV age and now to a global audience sitting at home. Is that still the case? It is in England, where
the Premier League has grown in strength relative to its continental rivals
. The Bundesliga, with its powerful economy and packed stadiums, is probably feeling pretty secure, too.
But France? Italy? Spain? The rest? Wherever you ask, you hear concerns about bigger, buzzier competitions eating their lunch, which is why they are the ones pushing for overseas games. Anything to stay relevant, no pun intended.
The return of the European Super League?
One of the bigger surprises in Rome was what nobody talked about: the possible return of the European Super League (ESL).
A few days before the gathering, one of Real Madrid’s favourite newspapers ran a story about UEFA negotiating with ESL’s financial backers, A22, for a solution to their long-running legal dispute. It claimed, among other things, that UEFA was willing to turn its three club competitions into a four-tier
Unify League
, as per A22’s 2024 rebrand.
Nobody
The Athletic
spoke to in Rome thought this would or should happen, and UEFA quickly shot down the story by saying any conversations it had with A22 were informal and inconclusive.
What people did talk about, though, was the victory A22 is about to secure in a Madrid commercial court against UEFA
for the heavy-handed actions the latter took in 2021 to quash the ESL,
a response that has subsequently been found to breach European Union competition law by the single market’s highest court, the European Court of Justice. Armed with that ruling, A22 resumed its case in the Spanish court and a verdict is imminent.
English fans made their feelings clear about an ESL in 2021
Rob Pinney/Getty Images
Might that revive the Unify League? Maybe. But the consensus in Rome was that A22 might get a nice pay-off, but the clubs will use the win as leverage to gain more control over UEFA’s competitions. In other words, exactly what has been happening for decades.
After all, that is EFC’s backstory. It started as the G-14 — literally 14 elite teams from seven countries that threatened UEFA with a breakaway in 1998 if it did not increase the Champions League from 16 to 32 sides. It became the ECA in 2008 following a peace deal with FIFA and UEFA over payments for players injured at international tournaments.
It had 103 members back then, with the premise being that this was a club for clubs that played in UEFA competitions. That headcount did not change much until 2021, when UEFA boss Ceferin was faced with the existential threat of losing the Champions League.
Luckily for him, the ESL was a dreadful idea, badly executed. The duplicitous dozen bottled it and nine of them returned to the fold immediately. Their punishment? An expanded Champions League and UC3.
The rise of Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the big clubs’ champion
Looking back now, the real winner from the ESL debacle was Al-Khelaifi. As the leader of one of the few aristocratic clubs that had not joined the rebellion, Ceferin rallied around him, as did the ECA, which had just seen its former boss, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, try to kill it.
According to legend, the former tennis pro from Qatar needed to be persuaded to take on the job of rebuilding the ECA and defending the Champions League. But it was either him or someone from Bayern Munich, and they had run the ECA for a decade before Agnelli. It was somebody else’s turn.
Al-Khelaifi’s PSG side won the Champions League last season
Alex Grimm/Getty Images
That might be one of football’s great Sliding Door moments, though,
as Al-Khelaifi has come a long, long way since then
. Back then, he looked like an unlikely global football leader, as his time was split between running beIN Media Group, the Qatari sports and entertainment giant; trying to win the Champions League with a stacked PSG team that needed more than one ball to keep everyone happy; and playing
padel
. He did not appear to like public speaking and his English was patchy.
Now, he could be the next FIFA president. Apparently, he tells everyone who asks that he does not want the job — and Saudi Arabia might not want a Qatari in the job during its
World Cup in 2034
— but he certainly looks the part now.
And with EFC general assemblies now as big and, arguably, as important as FIFA congresses, he already has a platform. He would be the big clubs’ champion and the big clubs are in charge. |
| Markdown | [Dowman for England?](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7123676/2026/03/17/max-dowman-england-world-cup/)
[Chelsea’s PL Punishment](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7123253/2026/03/17/chelsea-roman-abramovich-era-punishment-analysis/)
[Most Underrated Footballers](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7122686/2026/03/17/most-underrated-player-world-football-analysis/)
[Premier League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/premier-league/)
[Champions League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/champions-league/)
[2026 Men's World Cup](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/world-cup/)
[F1](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/formula-1/)
[Tennis](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/tennis/)
[FA Cup](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/fa-cup/)
[Cricket](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/cricket/)
[La Liga](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/la-liga/)
[Europa League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/europa-league/)
[Women's Football](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/womens-football/)
[Olympics](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/olympics/)
[Global Sports](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/global-sports/)
[Cycling](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/cycling/)
[Sailing](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/sailing/)
[Sports Business](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/sports-business/)
[Boxing](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/boxing/)
[Golf](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/golf/)
[Serie A](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/serie-a/)
[Bundesliga](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/bundesliga/)
[International Football](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/international-football/)
[NFL](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nfl/)
[NBA](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nba/)
[MLB](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/mlb/)
[World Baseball Classic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/world-baseball-classic/)
[NHL](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nhl/)
[MLS](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/mls/)
[Transfer News](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/tag/transfer-news/)
[FPL](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/fantasy-premier-league/)
[League Cup](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/efl-league-cup/)
[Championship](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/efl-championship/)
[League One](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/efl-league-one/)
[League Two](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/efl-league-two/)
[Women's Euros](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/womens-euros/)
[NWSL](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/nwsl/)
[College Sports](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/college-sports/)
[NCAAF](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/college-football/)
[NCAAM](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/college-basketball/)
[Peak](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/sports-leadership-personal-development/)
[MMA](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/mma/)
[Motorsports](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/motorsports/)
[NASCAR](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nascar/)
[Culture](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/culture/)
[Memorabilia & Collectibles](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/sports-memorabilia-and-collectibles/)
[Gaming](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/gaming/)
[Sports Betting](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/sports-betting/)
[Log In](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/login2/?redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fathletic%2F6718905%2F2025%2F10%2F20%2Ffootball-2025-big-clubs-rule%2F)[Subscribe Now](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription/athletic?source=athletic&onboarded=false&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fathletic%2Fwelcome2%2F%3Fredirect%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252Fathletic)[Tickets by Viagogo](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/tickets/)[Connections: Sports Edition](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/connections-sports-edition/)
REGION
[U.S.](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/)[International](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/uk/)
[Search](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/search/)[Top News](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/news/)[Podcasts](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/podcasts/)
[](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/uk/)
[ EPL](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/premier-league/)
[Teams](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/premier-league/teams/)
[AFC Bournemouth](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/bournemouth/)
[Arsenal](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/arsenal/)
[Aston Villa](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/aston-villa/)
[Brentford](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/brentford/)
[Brighton & Hove Albion](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/brighton-and-hove-albion/)
[Burnley](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/burnley/)
[Chelsea](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/chelsea/)
[Crystal Palace](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/crystal-palace/)
[Everton](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/everton/)
[Fulham](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/fulham/)
[Leeds United](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/leeds-united/)
[Liverpool](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/liverpool/)
[Manchester City](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/manchester-city/)
[Manchester United](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/manchester-united/)
[Newcastle United](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/newcastle-united/)
[Nottingham Forest](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/nottingham-forest/)
[Sunderland](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/sunderland/)
[Tottenham Hotspur](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/tottenham-hotspur/)
[West Ham United](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/west-ham-united/)
[Wolverhampton Wanderers](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/team/wolverhampton-wanderers/)
• • •
[Scores & Schedule](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/premier-league/schedule/)
[Standings](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/premier-league/standings/)
[Fantasy](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/fantasy-premier-league/)
[The Athletic FC Newsletter](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/tag/the-athletic-fc/)
[Podcasts](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/podcasts/premier-league/)
[Dowman for England?](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7123676/2026/03/17/max-dowman-england-world-cup/)
[Chelsea’s PL Punishment](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7123253/2026/03/17/chelsea-roman-abramovich-era-punishment-analysis/)
[Most Underrated Footballers](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7122686/2026/03/17/most-underrated-player-world-football-analysis/)
[Log In](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/login2/?ref_page=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fathletic%2F6718905%2F2025%2F10%2F20%2Ffootball-2025-big-clubs-rule%2F&login_source=site_nav&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fathletic%2F6718905%2F2025%2F10%2F20%2Ffootball-2025-big-clubs-rule%2F)
Unlock unrivaled sports
coverage with The Athletic.
Subscribe now
Cancel Anytime
Already a subscriber? [Log in](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/login2/)
F
Nicolò Campo, Richard Pelham, Etsuo Hara/Getty Images; Design: Dan Goldfarb
# In football in 2025, the big clubs rule
[ ](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/matt-slater/)
By
[Matt Slater](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/matt-slater/)
Oct. 20, 2025
Share full article
17
When you have spent 17 years stuck behind the Electrical Contractors’ Association, the Edinburgh College of Art, and the European Cockpit Association in Google’s search results for the acronym “ECA”, it probably is time for a makeover.
So, when the hundreds of delegates arrived at the European Club Association’s 32nd general assembly in Rome this month, they actually found themselves at the first general assembly of European Football Clubs, which is a good name for a lobby group that represents European football clubs.
Advertisement
Its new club badge-style logo was on advertising boards outside the Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria, and on cushions, partition walls and video screens inside. Under each seat in the main conference room, there was an EFC-branded holdall containing a baseball cap, a notebook and a packet of EFC alphabet pasta.
And just in case there was any doubt that this was a break from the past, there were fireworks at the pre-assembly drinks, a gala dinner at one of Rome’s most atmospheric ancient sites (complete with drone show and performance from Eurovision-winning Italian rock band Maneskin), conference speeches from industry leaders, and selfies with [Zlatan Ibrahimovic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5680996/2024/08/06/zlatan-ibrahimovic-milan-man-utd-tattoos-mourinho/).
More than 800 club bosses were invited and most of them accepted, as did the presidents of Concacaf, FIFA and UEFA (Victor Montagliani, Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Ceferin), plus representatives from the top domestic leagues and players’ unions.
EFC president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said he wanted to put the word “football” in the middle of the organisation’s name, just as he has put EFC in the middle of global football politics.
You still have to scroll to page four of a Google search — past Everton Football Club, the European Federation of Corrosion, and Extreme Fighting Championship — to find the EFC we are referring to here. But that is an improvement of two pages in less than a week, which suggests the algorithms have sensed the shift in football’s power structures, too.
Because make no mistake, the first EFC get-together was also a manifestation of something that has been building since a dozen of Europe’s biggest clubs quit the ECA in April 2021 to form a breakaway rival to UEFA’s Champions League, [a European Super League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/tag/european-super-league/): they lost that battle, but they won the war.
They wanted more games in Europe and they got them in the shape of expanded UEFA club competitions.
Advertisement
They wanted a bigger say in the marketing of those competitions and they got that with the creation of UC3, the EFC’s joint venture with UEFA.
They wanted more money and they are going to get that with the next cycle of media deals, which are being negotiated by the agency they pushed for (Relevent Sports, the company founded by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross [that has long sought to stage domestic league games on U.S. soil](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6696205/2025/10/07/european-league-games-abroad-explained/)) and not the agency UEFA had been using for more than 30 years.
Welcome to football in 2025, where the big clubs are in charge.
***
### **A (Big) Club(s) World Cup?**
Football’s global governing body, FIFA, has finally worked out a way to hitch its wagon to football’s most attractive properties — the clubs — with its [revamped Club World Cup](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6440062/2025/06/22/club-world-cup-finances-brand/).
EFC’s 820 clubs all noticed the £28million (\$38m) the 12 European participants got just for turning up at the 32-team tournament in the United States last summer. [Chelsea, the eventual champions, earned £85million](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6492867/2025/07/15/club-world-cup-prize-money-chelsea-psg/) for their summer’s work, almost six times as much as they got for winning the Conference League, and half as much as they earned for 10 months’ hard graft in the Premier League.
[Catch Up On The Story  Burnley 0 Leeds 2: Aaronson and Harrison struggle as slow starts begin to bite It was a disappointing defeat but Farke's side are still averaging one point per game. Beren Cross explains why this is no time to panic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6728279/2025/10/18/burnley-0-leeds-2-analysis/)
So the chatter in Rome was not about the tournament’s patchy attendances, high temperatures, tired players, or Donald Trump; it was about how FIFA could shoehorn in more of EFC’s grandees in 2029 and beyond.
Instead of any debate about whether we might already be playing too much football, this crowd wondered if a “play-in tournament” might suffice for the Club World Cup’s African and Asian makeweights, freeing up space to make sure the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool and Napoli are not kept out next time.
***
### **More TV money, but will 20-team leagues survive?**
The discussions — in public and private — about UEFA’s revamp of its competitions followed the same path as those around the Club World Cup.
Advertisement
If you’re wondering whether the clubs thought there was a lack of jeopardy last season, as many fans and pundits have suggested, wonder no more: the clubs and their new commercial partner UEFA think [the Swiss model](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5716629/2024/08/28/uefa-ucl-europa-draw-swiss/) in Europe’s premier club competitions is sweet. They love the extra TV inventory and additional matchday revenue, and they are positively giddy about the auctions for the 2027-33 rights cycle that Relevent has just started in Europe’s five biggest markets.
News of that process had leaked before the general assembly and there are clearly some in the industry who see dark clouds on the horizon — but they were just not invited to EFC’s do. Or they were and the drones, fireworks, Maneskin, Zlatan et cetera distracted them.
The Italian press, however, had been tipped off about the potential downside of Relevent delivering on its promise of a 30 per cent bump in media income from 2027 onwards. At the moment, UEFA and the clubs make €4.4billion (£3.8bn; \$5.1bn) a year from TV and streaming, but the U.S.-based agency has told them it can boost that number to €6bn.
Serie A appears very worried about where that additional money will come from. It does not seem to believe the pizza will get bigger; it thinks its slice is about to get smaller. And if that happens, Italian clubs might decide the only way to maintain their slice of the slice is to reduce the number of clubs from 20 to 18, something they resisted in early 2024, when [only four clubs backed the idea](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5270180/2024/02/12/juventus-milan-inter-roma-serie-a/). Would it surprise you to learn that [those clubs were Milan, Inter, Juventus and Roma](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5297842/2024/02/27/seriea-epl-18-uefa-ucl-gravina/)?
Italy’s biggest clubs have resisted the prospect of an 18-team leagueMarco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP
When asked by *The Athletic* if this defeatism might spread to other leagues, several delegates, all speaking anonymously to avoid being buzz-killers, pointed out that France’s Ligue 1 must regret going from 20 to 18 in 2023. All that did was remove 74 games from its media-rights inventory at a time when streamers want quantity as well as quality, as well as taking two fanbases out of the potential audience. Ligue 1 clubs are now expecting [less media income than clubs in England’s second tier](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6281404/2025/04/15/ligue-1-tv-rights-dazn-contract/).
But that real-world example of why consolidation is not always the best response to a contracting market will not stop clubs from considering it. When given the choice between their own short-term needs and what is best for the collective, football clubs have proven time and time again that they are selfish and short-sighted.
***
### **The big clubs are just getting… bigger**
There was none of that pessimism at the Cavalieri, though. Instead, the delegates, the vast majority of whom were from clubs that did not play in a UEFA competition last season, all looked and sounded delighted that UEFA’s solidarity pot — the percentage of revenue distributed to clubs who do not play in Europe’s elite club competitions — had grown to seven per cent of the total revenues.
Advertisement
This means that the hundreds of clubs across Europe who do not have lucrative side hustles in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League are now sharing €308million between them. Better than nothing, right? But when you compare solidarity payments to how much Paris Saint-Germain, last season’s Champions League winners and the club Al-Khelaifi runs, are banking, the impact on competitive balance is obvious. [PSG cleared €140million for their victory last May,](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6372180/2025/05/31/uefa-prize-money-impact-on-domestic-leagues/) and then went on to reach the final of the Club World Cup, too.
PSG celebrate their Champions League win at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris on June 1Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images
The Union of European Clubs represents about 140 clubs that are still not yet on EFC’s radar. It released research this summer that showed how the compounding effect of UEFA money has turned national leagues into one- or two-horse races across the continent, with the same handful of clubs qualifying for the UEFA top-up every year. The effect is particularly noticeable in smaller markets, where even [Conference League cheques](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6263960/2025/04/09/chelsea-conference-league-importance/) smash what is available domestically.
There were a few in Rome who noticed how strange it was to see so many so happy with a few extra thousand euros in solidarity payments, access to EFC legal advice and an invite to the big party. “They are applauding their own funerals,” was one cynic’s observation.
That is a bit harsh on EFC’s full-time staff, who really try to help their member clubs and can point to genuine lobbying successes, such as the expansion of the FIFA programme that compensates clubs for the release of players during international tournaments and, more recently, qualifiers.
***
### **Weekend domestic matches and games abroad**
There is a reason the domestic leagues have teamed up [with the players’ unions to take legal action against FIFA](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6515793/2025/07/25/fifa-fifpro-blackmail-tensions/) over its failure to consult on the timing of the Club World Cup. They know they are in a battle for our attention and it is the big clubs that deliver those eyeballs.
For more than a century, national leagues, played at weekends, have been the dominant delivery mechanism, be that in-person in the pre-TV age and now to a global audience sitting at home. Is that still the case? It is in England, where [the Premier League has grown in strength relative to its continental rivals](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6440235/2025/06/26/premier-league-spending-power-saudi/). The Bundesliga, with its powerful economy and packed stadiums, is probably feeling pretty secure, too.
But France? Italy? Spain? The rest? Wherever you ask, you hear concerns about bigger, buzzier competitions eating their lunch, which is why they are the ones pushing for overseas games. Anything to stay relevant, no pun intended.
Advertisement
***
### **The return of the European Super League?**
One of the bigger surprises in Rome was what nobody talked about: the possible return of the European Super League (ESL).
A few days before the gathering, one of Real Madrid’s favourite newspapers ran a story about UEFA negotiating with ESL’s financial backers, A22, for a solution to their long-running legal dispute. It claimed, among other things, that UEFA was willing to turn its three club competitions into a four-tier [Unify League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6002228/2024/12/18/super-league-unify-league-uefa-a22/), as per A22’s 2024 rebrand.
Nobody *The Athletic* spoke to in Rome thought this would or should happen, and UEFA quickly shot down the story by saying any conversations it had with A22 were informal and inconclusive.
What people did talk about, though, was the victory A22 is about to secure in a Madrid commercial court against UEFA [for the heavy-handed actions the latter took in 2021 to quash the ESL,](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5154222/2023/12/21/super-league-ruling-case-uefa-fifa/) a response that has subsequently been found to breach European Union competition law by the single market’s highest court, the European Court of Justice. Armed with that ruling, A22 resumed its case in the Spanish court and a verdict is imminent.
English fans made their feelings clear about an ESL in 2021Rob Pinney/Getty Images
Might that revive the Unify League? Maybe. But the consensus in Rome was that A22 might get a nice pay-off, but the clubs will use the win as leverage to gain more control over UEFA’s competitions. In other words, exactly what has been happening for decades.
After all, that is EFC’s backstory. It started as the G-14 — literally 14 elite teams from seven countries that threatened UEFA with a breakaway in 1998 if it did not increase the Champions League from 16 to 32 sides. It became the ECA in 2008 following a peace deal with FIFA and UEFA over payments for players injured at international tournaments.
It had 103 members back then, with the premise being that this was a club for clubs that played in UEFA competitions. That headcount did not change much until 2021, when UEFA boss Ceferin was faced with the existential threat of losing the Champions League.
Advertisement
Luckily for him, the ESL was a dreadful idea, badly executed. The duplicitous dozen bottled it and nine of them returned to the fold immediately. Their punishment? An expanded Champions League and UC3.
***
### **The rise of Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the big clubs’ champion**
Looking back now, the real winner from the ESL debacle was Al-Khelaifi. As the leader of one of the few aristocratic clubs that had not joined the rebellion, Ceferin rallied around him, as did the ECA, which had just seen its former boss, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, try to kill it.
According to legend, the former tennis pro from Qatar needed to be persuaded to take on the job of rebuilding the ECA and defending the Champions League. But it was either him or someone from Bayern Munich, and they had run the ECA for a decade before Agnelli. It was somebody else’s turn.
Al-Khelaifi’s PSG side won the Champions League last seasonAlex Grimm/Getty Images
That might be one of football’s great Sliding Door moments, though, [as Al-Khelaifi has come a long, long way since then](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5897306/2024/11/07/al-khelaifi-psg-qatar-world-cup/). Back then, he looked like an unlikely global football leader, as his time was split between running beIN Media Group, the Qatari sports and entertainment giant; trying to win the Champions League with a stacked PSG team that needed more than one ball to keep everyone happy; and playing [padel](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4841625/2023/09/10/messi-ronaldo-neymar-padel-football/). He did not appear to like public speaking and his English was patchy.
Now, he could be the next FIFA president. Apparently, he tells everyone who asks that he does not want the job — and Saudi Arabia might not want a Qatari in the job during its [World Cup in 2034](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5983670/2024/12/11/saudi-arabia-world-cup-2034-controversial/) — but he certainly looks the part now.
And with EFC general assemblies now as big and, arguably, as important as FIFA congresses, he already has a platform. He would be the big clubs’ champion and the big clubs are in charge.
[](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/matt-slater/)
By
[Matt Slater](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/matt-slater/)
Senior News Writer
Tagged To:
[Bundesliga](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/bundesliga/)
[Champions League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/champions-league/)
[La Liga](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/la-liga/)
[Ligue 1](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/ligue1/)
[Premier League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/premier-league/)
\+ more
Your Next Read
[UEFA becomes first sporting body to sign up to global anti-piracy coalition](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6736306/2025/10/21/uefa-champions-league-piracy-ace/)
[How players prepare for a double-match week: Two ‘teams’, specialist bedding, compression boots](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6732788/2025/10/21/footballers-prepare-two-matches-week/)
[Inside Real Madrid: Will Endrick leave on loan? Who will miss El Clasico?](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6732839/2025/10/20/real-madrid-getafe-alonso-endrick-barcelona-clasico/)
Latest League Stories
[Explained: Why Morocco were crowned AFCON winners 57 days after final as Senegal victory annulled](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7126755/2026/03/17/afcon-morocco-senegal-final-overturned/)
[Iran 'negotiating' to move World Cup matches from U.S. to Mexico, FIFA says no plans to switch](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7124876/2026/03/17/iran-trump-world-cup-news-games-mexico/)
[Football regulator 'positive' for investment, chief executive says](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7123985/2026/03/16/football-regulator-investment-richard-monks/)
Latest headlines
[Flick says he will retire from management when he leaves Barcelona](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7125131/2026/03/17/barcelona-news-flick-retire-future-update-contract/)
[Slot 'must have done a lot wrong' to receive Anfield boos](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7125787/2026/03/17/arne-slot-liverpool-fans-boos/)
[Chelsea handed suspended transfer ban, £10m fine for breaching PL rules](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7081285/2026/03/16/chelsea-transfer-ban-premier-league/)
Mar 18, 2026
## Connections: Sports Edition
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today's puzzle
Based in North West England, Matt Slater is a senior sports news reporter for The Athletic UK. Before that, he spent 16 years with the BBC and then three years as chief sports reporter for the UK/Ireland's main news agency, PA. Follow Matt on Twitter **[@mjshrimper](https://twitter.com/mjshrimper)**
National
[Boxing](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/boxing/)
[Bundesliga](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/bundesliga/)
[Champions League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/champions-league/)
[Championship](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/efl-championship/)
[College Football](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/college-football/)
[College Sports](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/college-sports/)
[Copa America](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/copa-america/)
[Copa del Rey](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/copa-del-rey/)
[Cricket](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/cricket/)
[Culture](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/culture/)
[Cycling](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/cycling/)
[Europa League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/europa-league/)
[European Championship](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/european-championship/)
[FA Cup](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/fa-cup/)
[Fantasy Baseball](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/fantasy/baseball/)
[Fantasy Basketball](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/fantasy/basketball/)
[Fantasy Football](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/fantasy/football/)
[Fantasy Hockey](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/fantasy/hockey/)
[Fantasy Premier League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/fantasy-premier-league/)
[FIFA Club World Cup](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/fifa-club-world-cup/)
[FIFA Men's World Cup](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/world-cup/)
[FIFA Women's World Cup](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/womens-world-cup-soccer/)
[Formula 1](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/formula-1/)
[Gaming](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/gaming/)
[Global Sports](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/global-sports/)
[Golf](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/golf/)
[International Football](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/international-football/)
[La Liga](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/la-liga/)
[League Cup](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/efl-league-cup/)
[League One](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/efl-league-one/)
[League Two](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/efl-league-two/)
[Memorabilia & Collectibles](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/sports-memorabilia-and-collectibles/)
[Men's College Basketball](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/college-basketball/)
[Men's Olympic Ice Hockey](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/mens-ice-hockey/)
[Mixed Martial Arts](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/mma/)
[MLB](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/mlb/)
[MLS](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/mls/)
[Motorsports](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/motorsports/)
[NASCAR](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nascar/)
[NBA](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nba/)
[NFL](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nfl/)
[NHL](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nhl/)
[NWSL](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/nwsl/)
[Olympics](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/olympics/)
[Opinion](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/opinion/)
[Peak](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/sports-leadership-personal-development/)
[Premier League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/premier-league/)
[Sailing](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/sailing/)
[Scottish Premiership](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/scottish-premiership/)
[Serie A](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/serie-a/)
[Soccer](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/)
[Sports Betting](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/sports-betting/)
[Sports Business](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/sports-business/)
[Tennis](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/tennis/)
[Top Sports News](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/top-sports-news/)
[WNBA](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/wnba/)
[Women's College Basketball](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/womens-college-basketball/)
[Women's Euros](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/womens-euros/)
[Women's Hockey](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/womens-hockey/)
[Women's Olympic Ice Hockey](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/womens-ice-hockey/)
[Women's Soccer](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/football/womens-football/)
[World Baseball Classic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/world-baseball-classic/)
[The Athletic Ink](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/ink/)
[Podcasts](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/podcasts/)
[Headlines](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/news/)
US
[Arizona](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/arizona/)
[Atlanta](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/atlanta/)
[Baltimore](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/baltimore/)
[Bay Area](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/bayarea/)
[Boston](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/boston/)
[Buffalo](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/buffalo/)
[Carolina](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/carolina/)
[Chicago](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/chicago/)
[Cincinnati](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/cincinnati/)
[Cleveland](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/cleveland/)
[Columbus](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/columbus/)
[Dallas](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/dfw/)
[Denver](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/denver/)
[Detroit](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/detroit/)
[Houston](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/houston/)
[Indiana](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/indiana/)
[Jacksonville](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/jacksonville/)
[Kansas City](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/kc/)
[Las Vegas](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/vegas/)
[Los Angeles](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/losangeles/)
[Memphis](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/memphis/)
[Miami](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/miami/)
[Minnesota](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/mn/)
[Nashville](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/nashville/)
[New Orleans](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/neworleans/)
[New York](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/newyork/)
[Oklahoma](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/oklahoma/)
[Oregon](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/oregon/)
[Orlando](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/orlando/)
[Philadelphia](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/philly/)
[Pittsburgh](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/pittsburgh/)
[Sacramento](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/sacramento/)
[San Antonio](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/sanantonio/)
[San Diego](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/sandiego/)
[Seattle](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/seattle/)
[St. Louis](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/stlouis/)
[Tampa Bay](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/tampabay/)
[Utah](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/utah/)
[Washington DC](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/dc/)
[Wisconsin](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/wisconsin/)
Canada
[Calgary](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/calgary/)
[Edmonton](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/edmonton/)
[Montreal](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/montreal/)
[Ottawa](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/ottawa/)
[Toronto](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/toronto/)
[Vancouver](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/vancouver/)
[Winnipeg](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/location/winnipeg/)
Partners
[Collectibles by eBay](https://www.ebay.com/b/Sports-Memorabilia-Fan-Shop-Sports-Cards/64482/bn_1857919?mk[%E2%80%A6]55-0&siteid=0&campid=5339067565&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1)
[Tickets by Viagogo](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/tickets/)
Editions
[International](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/uk/)
[U.S.](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/)
Subscribe
[Start Subscription](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription/athletic?source=athletic&onboarded=false&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fathletic%2Fwelcome2%2F%3Fredirect%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252Fathletic%252F6718905%252F2025%252F10%252F20%252Ffootball-2025-big-clubs-rule%252F)
[Group Subscriptions](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription/groups?Pardot_Campaign_Code_Form_Input=7FQLH)
HQ
[About Us](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/about/)
[Careers](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/careers/)
[Code of Conduct](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/code-of-conduct/)
[Editorial Guidelines](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/edit-guidelines/)
[Business Inquiries](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/contact-us/)
[Press Inquiries](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/press/)
Support
[FAQ](https://help.nytimes.com/)
[Forgot Password?](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/forgot-password2/)
[Contact Us](https://www.nytimes.com/contactus)
[Terms of Service](https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014893428-Terms-of-Service)
Newsletters
[The Pulse](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/the-pulse/)
[The Bounce](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/the-bounce/)
[The Windup](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/the-windup/)
[Prime Tire](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/prime-tire/)
[Full Time](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/full-time/)
[Until Saturday](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/until-saturday/)
[Scoop City](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/scoop-city/)
[The Athletic FC](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/the-athletic-fc/)
[MoneyCall](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/moneycall/)
[Red Light](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/red-light/)
[Peak](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/peak/)
©2026 The Athletic Media Company, [A New York Times Company](https://www.nytimes.com/)
Your Privacy Choices
[Privacy Policy](https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/10940941449492-The-New-York-Times-Company-Privacy-Policy)
[Cookie Policy](https://www.nytimes.com/privacy/cookie-policy)
[Support](https://www.nytimes.com/contactus)
[Sitemap](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/sitemap/)
[ ](https://twitter.com/TheAthleticFC)
[ ](https://facebook.com/TheAthleticFC)
[ ](https://instagram.com/theathleticfc/)
[ ](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-athletic-sports-news/id1135216317)
[ ](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theathletic) |
| Readable Markdown | When you have spent 17 years stuck behind the Electrical Contractors’ Association, the Edinburgh College of Art, and the European Cockpit Association in Google’s search results for the acronym “ECA”, it probably is time for a makeover.
So, when the hundreds of delegates arrived at the European Club Association’s 32nd general assembly in Rome this month, they actually found themselves at the first general assembly of European Football Clubs, which is a good name for a lobby group that represents European football clubs.
Its new club badge-style logo was on advertising boards outside the Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria, and on cushions, partition walls and video screens inside. Under each seat in the main conference room, there was an EFC-branded holdall containing a baseball cap, a notebook and a packet of EFC alphabet pasta.
And just in case there was any doubt that this was a break from the past, there were fireworks at the pre-assembly drinks, a gala dinner at one of Rome’s most atmospheric ancient sites (complete with drone show and performance from Eurovision-winning Italian rock band Maneskin), conference speeches from industry leaders, and selfies with [Zlatan Ibrahimovic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5680996/2024/08/06/zlatan-ibrahimovic-milan-man-utd-tattoos-mourinho/).
More than 800 club bosses were invited and most of them accepted, as did the presidents of Concacaf, FIFA and UEFA (Victor Montagliani, Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Ceferin), plus representatives from the top domestic leagues and players’ unions.
EFC president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said he wanted to put the word “football” in the middle of the organisation’s name, just as he has put EFC in the middle of global football politics.
You still have to scroll to page four of a Google search — past Everton Football Club, the European Federation of Corrosion, and Extreme Fighting Championship — to find the EFC we are referring to here. But that is an improvement of two pages in less than a week, which suggests the algorithms have sensed the shift in football’s power structures, too.
Because make no mistake, the first EFC get-together was also a manifestation of something that has been building since a dozen of Europe’s biggest clubs quit the ECA in April 2021 to form a breakaway rival to UEFA’s Champions League, [a European Super League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/tag/european-super-league/): they lost that battle, but they won the war.
They wanted more games in Europe and they got them in the shape of expanded UEFA club competitions.
They wanted a bigger say in the marketing of those competitions and they got that with the creation of UC3, the EFC’s joint venture with UEFA.
They wanted more money and they are going to get that with the next cycle of media deals, which are being negotiated by the agency they pushed for (Relevent Sports, the company founded by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross [that has long sought to stage domestic league games on U.S. soil](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6696205/2025/10/07/european-league-games-abroad-explained/)) and not the agency UEFA had been using for more than 30 years.
Welcome to football in 2025, where the big clubs are in charge.
***
### **A (Big) Club(s) World Cup?**
Football’s global governing body, FIFA, has finally worked out a way to hitch its wagon to football’s most attractive properties — the clubs — with its [revamped Club World Cup](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6440062/2025/06/22/club-world-cup-finances-brand/).
EFC’s 820 clubs all noticed the £28million (\$38m) the 12 European participants got just for turning up at the 32-team tournament in the United States last summer. [Chelsea, the eventual champions, earned £85million](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6492867/2025/07/15/club-world-cup-prize-money-chelsea-psg/) for their summer’s work, almost six times as much as they got for winning the Conference League, and half as much as they earned for 10 months’ hard graft in the Premier League.
So the chatter in Rome was not about the tournament’s patchy attendances, high temperatures, tired players, or Donald Trump; it was about how FIFA could shoehorn in more of EFC’s grandees in 2029 and beyond.
Instead of any debate about whether we might already be playing too much football, this crowd wondered if a “play-in tournament” might suffice for the Club World Cup’s African and Asian makeweights, freeing up space to make sure the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool and Napoli are not kept out next time.
***
### **More TV money, but will 20-team leagues survive?**
The discussions — in public and private — about UEFA’s revamp of its competitions followed the same path as those around the Club World Cup.
If you’re wondering whether the clubs thought there was a lack of jeopardy last season, as many fans and pundits have suggested, wonder no more: the clubs and their new commercial partner UEFA think [the Swiss model](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5716629/2024/08/28/uefa-ucl-europa-draw-swiss/) in Europe’s premier club competitions is sweet. They love the extra TV inventory and additional matchday revenue, and they are positively giddy about the auctions for the 2027-33 rights cycle that Relevent has just started in Europe’s five biggest markets.
News of that process had leaked before the general assembly and there are clearly some in the industry who see dark clouds on the horizon — but they were just not invited to EFC’s do. Or they were and the drones, fireworks, Maneskin, Zlatan et cetera distracted them.
The Italian press, however, had been tipped off about the potential downside of Relevent delivering on its promise of a 30 per cent bump in media income from 2027 onwards. At the moment, UEFA and the clubs make €4.4billion (£3.8bn; \$5.1bn) a year from TV and streaming, but the U.S.-based agency has told them it can boost that number to €6bn.
Serie A appears very worried about where that additional money will come from. It does not seem to believe the pizza will get bigger; it thinks its slice is about to get smaller. And if that happens, Italian clubs might decide the only way to maintain their slice of the slice is to reduce the number of clubs from 20 to 18, something they resisted in early 2024, when [only four clubs backed the idea](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5270180/2024/02/12/juventus-milan-inter-roma-serie-a/). Would it surprise you to learn that [those clubs were Milan, Inter, Juventus and Roma](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5297842/2024/02/27/seriea-epl-18-uefa-ucl-gravina/)?
Italy’s biggest clubs have resisted the prospect of an 18-team leagueMarco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP
When asked by *The Athletic* if this defeatism might spread to other leagues, several delegates, all speaking anonymously to avoid being buzz-killers, pointed out that France’s Ligue 1 must regret going from 20 to 18 in 2023. All that did was remove 74 games from its media-rights inventory at a time when streamers want quantity as well as quality, as well as taking two fanbases out of the potential audience. Ligue 1 clubs are now expecting [less media income than clubs in England’s second tier](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6281404/2025/04/15/ligue-1-tv-rights-dazn-contract/).
But that real-world example of why consolidation is not always the best response to a contracting market will not stop clubs from considering it. When given the choice between their own short-term needs and what is best for the collective, football clubs have proven time and time again that they are selfish and short-sighted.
***
### **The big clubs are just getting… bigger**
There was none of that pessimism at the Cavalieri, though. Instead, the delegates, the vast majority of whom were from clubs that did not play in a UEFA competition last season, all looked and sounded delighted that UEFA’s solidarity pot — the percentage of revenue distributed to clubs who do not play in Europe’s elite club competitions — had grown to seven per cent of the total revenues.
This means that the hundreds of clubs across Europe who do not have lucrative side hustles in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League are now sharing €308million between them. Better than nothing, right? But when you compare solidarity payments to how much Paris Saint-Germain, last season’s Champions League winners and the club Al-Khelaifi runs, are banking, the impact on competitive balance is obvious. [PSG cleared €140million for their victory last May,](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6372180/2025/05/31/uefa-prize-money-impact-on-domestic-leagues/) and then went on to reach the final of the Club World Cup, too.
PSG celebrate their Champions League win at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris on June 1Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images
The Union of European Clubs represents about 140 clubs that are still not yet on EFC’s radar. It released research this summer that showed how the compounding effect of UEFA money has turned national leagues into one- or two-horse races across the continent, with the same handful of clubs qualifying for the UEFA top-up every year. The effect is particularly noticeable in smaller markets, where even [Conference League cheques](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6263960/2025/04/09/chelsea-conference-league-importance/) smash what is available domestically.
There were a few in Rome who noticed how strange it was to see so many so happy with a few extra thousand euros in solidarity payments, access to EFC legal advice and an invite to the big party. “They are applauding their own funerals,” was one cynic’s observation.
That is a bit harsh on EFC’s full-time staff, who really try to help their member clubs and can point to genuine lobbying successes, such as the expansion of the FIFA programme that compensates clubs for the release of players during international tournaments and, more recently, qualifiers.
***
### **Weekend domestic matches and games abroad**
There is a reason the domestic leagues have teamed up [with the players’ unions to take legal action against FIFA](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6515793/2025/07/25/fifa-fifpro-blackmail-tensions/) over its failure to consult on the timing of the Club World Cup. They know they are in a battle for our attention and it is the big clubs that deliver those eyeballs.
For more than a century, national leagues, played at weekends, have been the dominant delivery mechanism, be that in-person in the pre-TV age and now to a global audience sitting at home. Is that still the case? It is in England, where [the Premier League has grown in strength relative to its continental rivals](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6440235/2025/06/26/premier-league-spending-power-saudi/). The Bundesliga, with its powerful economy and packed stadiums, is probably feeling pretty secure, too.
But France? Italy? Spain? The rest? Wherever you ask, you hear concerns about bigger, buzzier competitions eating their lunch, which is why they are the ones pushing for overseas games. Anything to stay relevant, no pun intended.
***
### **The return of the European Super League?**
One of the bigger surprises in Rome was what nobody talked about: the possible return of the European Super League (ESL).
A few days before the gathering, one of Real Madrid’s favourite newspapers ran a story about UEFA negotiating with ESL’s financial backers, A22, for a solution to their long-running legal dispute. It claimed, among other things, that UEFA was willing to turn its three club competitions into a four-tier [Unify League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6002228/2024/12/18/super-league-unify-league-uefa-a22/), as per A22’s 2024 rebrand.
Nobody *The Athletic* spoke to in Rome thought this would or should happen, and UEFA quickly shot down the story by saying any conversations it had with A22 were informal and inconclusive.
What people did talk about, though, was the victory A22 is about to secure in a Madrid commercial court against UEFA [for the heavy-handed actions the latter took in 2021 to quash the ESL,](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5154222/2023/12/21/super-league-ruling-case-uefa-fifa/) a response that has subsequently been found to breach European Union competition law by the single market’s highest court, the European Court of Justice. Armed with that ruling, A22 resumed its case in the Spanish court and a verdict is imminent.
English fans made their feelings clear about an ESL in 2021Rob Pinney/Getty Images
Might that revive the Unify League? Maybe. But the consensus in Rome was that A22 might get a nice pay-off, but the clubs will use the win as leverage to gain more control over UEFA’s competitions. In other words, exactly what has been happening for decades.
After all, that is EFC’s backstory. It started as the G-14 — literally 14 elite teams from seven countries that threatened UEFA with a breakaway in 1998 if it did not increase the Champions League from 16 to 32 sides. It became the ECA in 2008 following a peace deal with FIFA and UEFA over payments for players injured at international tournaments.
It had 103 members back then, with the premise being that this was a club for clubs that played in UEFA competitions. That headcount did not change much until 2021, when UEFA boss Ceferin was faced with the existential threat of losing the Champions League.
Luckily for him, the ESL was a dreadful idea, badly executed. The duplicitous dozen bottled it and nine of them returned to the fold immediately. Their punishment? An expanded Champions League and UC3.
***
### **The rise of Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the big clubs’ champion**
Looking back now, the real winner from the ESL debacle was Al-Khelaifi. As the leader of one of the few aristocratic clubs that had not joined the rebellion, Ceferin rallied around him, as did the ECA, which had just seen its former boss, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, try to kill it.
According to legend, the former tennis pro from Qatar needed to be persuaded to take on the job of rebuilding the ECA and defending the Champions League. But it was either him or someone from Bayern Munich, and they had run the ECA for a decade before Agnelli. It was somebody else’s turn.
Al-Khelaifi’s PSG side won the Champions League last seasonAlex Grimm/Getty Images
That might be one of football’s great Sliding Door moments, though, [as Al-Khelaifi has come a long, long way since then](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5897306/2024/11/07/al-khelaifi-psg-qatar-world-cup/). Back then, he looked like an unlikely global football leader, as his time was split between running beIN Media Group, the Qatari sports and entertainment giant; trying to win the Champions League with a stacked PSG team that needed more than one ball to keep everyone happy; and playing [padel](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4841625/2023/09/10/messi-ronaldo-neymar-padel-football/). He did not appear to like public speaking and his English was patchy.
Now, he could be the next FIFA president. Apparently, he tells everyone who asks that he does not want the job — and Saudi Arabia might not want a Qatari in the job during its [World Cup in 2034](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5983670/2024/12/11/saudi-arabia-world-cup-2034-controversial/) — but he certainly looks the part now.
And with EFC general assemblies now as big and, arguably, as important as FIFA congresses, he already has a platform. He would be the big clubs’ champion and the big clubs are in charge. |
| Shard | 84 (laksa) |
| Root Hash | 4566504020376537684 |
| Unparsed URL | com,nytimes!www,/athletic/6718905/2025/10/20/football-2025-big-clubs-rule/ s443 |