The reply from the UEFA President
Dear Mr Joseph,
Thank you very much for your kind, vibrant and passionate letter
As I read the points you gathered, I can only subscribe to all of them: football competitions are and must remain open, through a promotion/relegation system based on on-field performance and fuelled by solidarity of the rich to the poor. Domestic competitions are the bread and butter of fans. They enjoy and will continue to enjoy week-end scheduling.
I value very much this opportunity to clarify that there has never been a concept of European Super League considered by UEFA in the notion you describe of a competition reserved to a handful of powerful clubs selected on the basis of their history/brand/renown, cutting themselves off the rest of the system.
UEFA is an organisation of solid principles embedded in its statutes, the most basic ones being openness, unity and solidarity. These values underpin every single action we take to develop and promote the beautiful game of football, in close cooperation with all our member associations. Even if your club does not belong to the so-called elite, please never forget that you enjoy a situation of privilege if you compare to most part of Europe as the UK is a leading market offering football top class infrastructure and sig nifica nt financial resources.
It is UEFA’s duty to review its competitions and to combine in the exercise their world-wide appeal with pan-European representation and an absolute respect of sporting principles. We are currently undergoing this review listening to our stakeholders and trying to strike the best balance possible between so many conflicting interests.
l.rEFA ttoute de Gend’rc 46, CH-1260 l’lyon 2, Switzerland WE CARE ABOUT FOOTBALL Tel : r41 (0)22707 2829 f ax: +41 (0) 22 707 295A UEFA.Presidentoffice(Cuefa.ch U€FA,:n,,r uaFA,r,r
Ateksancler ieferin President
As President of this organisation, I promise that our efforts will always be focusing on these two objectives: keeping the UEFA Champions League the best club competition in the world and making access to the UEFA competitions system open to as many clubs as possible. As you see, a closed Super League is simply not possible with us.
Please keep your football passion intact. Yours sincerely
UEFA
