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Sources: Big update on Aston Villa being booted out of organisation
Involvement in the new Union of European Clubs is not likely to jeopardise membership of the rival European Club Association for likes of Aston Villa, sources have told Football Insider.
The Union of European Clubs (UEC) was announced earlier this week and is currently taking applications for what it expects to ultimately be a 1000-strong membership of clubs.
No members have been formally announced, but Villa were one of five English clubs represented at the official launch in Brussels and are believed to be on board.
Brentford, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Watford were also there to support the new organisation, which aims to “improve support and advocacy for non-elite professional clubs across Europe.”
The UEC does not have the support of the European Club Association (ECA), the group which acts as a lobbying agency for clubs across the continent but which critics claim has become dominated by the game’s elite.
The ECA currently has 330 member clubs – including Aston Villa – but only eight per cent have voting rights.
ECA chairman and Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, one of the most powerful voices in football, expressed his opposition to the UEC in an informal meeting this week.
But a governance source has told Football Insider that there is no threat to the ECA membership of those clubs who choose to get involved in the UEC.
Significantly, the ECA is recognised by Uefa, whereas the UEC at this stage is not.
Villa are one of 10 English members of the ECA and the only one to have also thrown its weight behind the UEC.
They have Associated Member status, meaning they can contribute to working groups and committees but have no voting rights at general assembly meetings.
In other news, Aston Villa handed “huge” Kalvin Phillips signing boost.