UEC

A new organisation to represent the clubs outside of Europe's elite

- Steve Menary

At the Renaissance Hotel in Brussels, the would-be members of the new Union of European Clubs finally surfaced.

There were 40 clubs from 25 countries in attendance, plus more than 30 online, which exceeded expectations. No attendance list was circulated – the UEC did not want that to look like a membership roster, which would give the wrong impression – but the names on the badges were there to be seen.

The clubs came from across Europe. AIK Stockholm, Keflavik from Iceland, Maltese club Hamrun Spartans and Spanish sides including Sevilla and Osasuna, plus five English clubs.

Two-and-a-half years after Katarina Pijetlovic, a Bosnian academic specialising in sports law, former Everton and Republic of Ireland player Gareth Farrelly, also a lawyer, and the owner of Croatian club Lokomotiva Zagreb, Dennis Gudasic, began talking about a new association for smaller European clubs, the UEC was a reality.