A meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee took place in Prague, Czech Republic, where a number of important decisions were made for European football.
In particular, the Executive Committee approved the new UEFA Women's Football Strategy for the period from 2024 to 2030. All details will be published in the coming weeks when it is officially launched.
Distribution of solidarity payments for clubs not participating in European Cup competitions for the 2024-2027 cycle
Last year, the UEFA Executive Committee approved a significant increase in the distribution of solidarity payments for clubs not participating in UEFA men's club competitions for the 2024-2027 cycle, which will see this amount increase from 4% to 7% of the projected threshold revenue of €4.4 billion. This amounts to €308 million - an increase of almost 80% compared to the previous cycle.
At today's meeting, the Executive Committee approved the criteria for allocating the new amounts. It confirmed the restriction of the distribution among the top five associations (England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France): each of them will receive €10 million. Thus, the funds available to the remaining 50 associations will increase from the current €135 million to a total of €258 million. 70% of these sums will be distributed depending on their position in the UEFA access list, while 30% will be proportional to the amounts received by the most profitable club of each association, an innovative concept aimed directly at the competitive balance in the domestic leagues.
The basic principles are as follows:
- funds are reserved for top division clubs that do not participate in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League phases;
- these funds are intended to maintain a competitive balance in the European top flight leagues, where some clubs benefit from additional revenue streams through participation in European competitions;
- part of the funds may be allocated to second division clubs with the consent of the top division clubs;
- the funds improve or strengthen club structures and governance standards, thereby contributing to the healthy development of European club football;
- to be eligible for these payments, clubs must meet certain UEFA club licensing criteria, with youth training criteria still being a crucial element.
Full details of the new solidarity sharing scheme will be announced in a circular letter in the coming weeks.
UEFA Champions League Final 2027
As the Municipality of Milan was unable to guarantee that the San Siro Stadium and its surroundings would not be affected by renovation work during the 2027 UEFA Champions League Final, it was decided not to schedule the final in Milan and to reopen the tender process to identify a suitable venue. A decision is expected in May/June 2025.