UEFA’s Mission

The monopolistic nature of governing bodies

Europe’s first conference on the Governance of Sport,⁶³ concluded that ‘the aims of sports governing bodies are to draw up rules for the sport, to develop and promote it, to widen its popularity and to represent the sport and those involved in it. Governing bodies will, in part, achieve this through good governance and by ensuring that the principles of democracy, independence, fairness, solidarity and transparency are respected.’

A closer look into the statutes of monopolistic sports governing bodies with a global reach, shows that the objectives are very much aligned with those mentioned in the previous paragraph. Examples are the international federations of volleyball (FIVB), rowing (FISA)and tennis (ITF). The statutes of all those federations share the objective of fostering the development of their sport on a global scale. The means used might be slightly different though, depending on the appeal of the sport to the media. For the FIVB, the federation intends to ‘develop volleyball as a major world media and entertainment sport through world class planning and organisation of competitions, marketing and promotional activities’

while FISA besides promoting and developing all forms of rowing by developing training courses and assisting in the formation of new clubs and federations, also lists objectives such as maintaining and promoting the ethical principles of rowing, encouraging international understanding and co-operation, and establishing measures of development aid.

Those generic goals change more significantly in sports where more than one federation oversees the sport internationally. Rugby and boxing are two such cases. On top of the traditional objectives of international development and promotion, their statutes also contain specific objectives acknowledging that they share the responsibility with other bodies. In the statutes of the World Boxing Organisation, we find in article 1.2 particular aspects of the mission of a non-monopolistic governing body:

‘Collaborate with all Regional and Local Authorities having competence over professional boxing practice, to consolidate and develop this sport activity in the world.’⁶⁴

62 Interview with Lars-Christer OLSSON

63 Brussels 26 and 27 February 2001. www governance-in-sport.com.

64 World Boxing Organisation statutes, Article 1.2, www.wbo-int.com

Having several governing bodies sharing the control of one sport hinders the development of the sport, as explained by Peter Gilliéron, the General Secretary of the Swiss FA:

‘A monopolistic sport governing body is crucial. It is the only means to have an organised game with universal standard rules, disciplinary measures and optimal utilisation of infrastructures. Although there is always potential for a revolution of sorts and for alternative governing bodies to ascend, if such a revolution occurs it is likely that in the end, the whole system will revert to a new monopolistic governance structure, because this is the most efficient way to govern the sport.

There must be only one European Champion and only one World Champion. If there are multiple organisations governing the sport, the public becomes confused. This creates a rift in the supporter base because of the lack of a clear message. Such situation also undermines the long term interest of the media and sponsors. If in the short-term media and sponsors would be able to choose between different leagues of competitions lowering the cost of rights, in the long run, the fragmented nature of the sport would not bring sufficient levels of audiences to generate real commercial interests in the game. This would represent the death of the sport.’ ⁶⁵

UEFA’s role

‘UEFA is an organisation that sells spectacle and pleasure’⁶⁶

The quotation above seems to indicate that UEFA has changed greatly from its initial identity as an organisation meant to foster and develop unity and solidarity among the European football community.

In some ways today’s UEFA could not be more different than the organisation created in 1954.

More specifically, UEFA currently defines as its goals to: ⁶⁷

§ organise successful competitions for professional, youth, women’s and amateur football;

§ increase access and participation, without discrimination on grounds of gender, religion or race, and support growth in the grassroots of the game;

§ achieve commercial success and sound finances without distorting the sporting qualities of the competitions;

§ use UEFA’s revenues to support reinvestment and redistribution in the game;

§ target specific aid and assistance to help member associations with the greatest need;

§ promote positive sporting values, including fair-play and anti-racism, as well as safe and secure match environments;

§ act as representative voice for the European football family;

§ ensure a coherent approach to decision-makers and opinion-formers on issues of relevance to European football;

65 Interview with Peter GILLIÉRON, General Secretary of the Swiss Football Association

66 Jean-Paul TURRIAN, UEFA Director of Services. Quote from CIES visit to UEFA on 05/05/03, “L’UEFA est une entreprise qui vend du spectacle et du plaisir”.

67 UEFA CEO annual report 2002, XXVII Ordinary Congress, Rome

§ maintain good relations with the other continental football confederations and FIFA;

§ ensure that the needs of those playing the game and the interests of fans are properly reflected in UEFA’s thinking.

Re-examining the list above we find keywords that reflect the new reality of governing sport in the commercialised world. Words like commercial success, sound finances, revenues, that would certainly not be found in the list of initial objectives released by UEFA by its creation in 1954. But in today’s reality, the task of promotion and development of the game requires a whole new dimension of resources investment.

However, if we manage to look through the complex marketing strategies and pages of sponsorship contracts making up the current reality, we will find out that UEFA maintains at its core the same original mission.Aligned with the goals of most monopolistic sports governing bodies, the core mission of UEFA has indeed remained to safeguard the development of European football at every level of the game and to promote the principles of unity and solidarity. UEFA is the ‘guardian’ of football in Europe, protecting and nurturing the well-being of the sport at all levels, from the elite and its stars to the millions who play the game as a hobby.

But people within and outside UEFA have different views on what the main interests defended by the continental organisation are. For Jonathan Hill, the UEFA delegate to the European Union in Brussels, UEFA’s goal is ‘certainly to safeguard the development of the game’ but also ‘to assure the future of European football as a whole through an effective exploitation of media rights in a time where there are strong commercial pressures on the game.’⁶⁸ With an approach closely intertwined with these pressures, Michele Centenaro, UEFA Senior Manager for Club Competitions, thinks that one key mission of UEFA nowadays is to avoid deformations of the whole organisation by external forces intending to denature UEFA’s role in the current structure of European football.⁶⁹

However, representatives of clubs consider UEFA’s mission differently. Geneviève Berti, the Communication Manager of G-14, proposes a very rigid and reductive definition of UEFA’s role as a

‘guardian of the text, of the spirit and of the discipline of European football.’⁷⁰ For Freddy Rumo, the President of Neuchâtel Xamax FC Executive Board, former President of the Swiss FA and former Vice-President of UEFA, UEFA’s objective should be ‘to represent the interests of the national associations which the organisation is built on’.⁷¹

The divergence, whether legitimate or not, in the views about UEFA’s role within the Football Family gives us a hint on the first roots of conflicts.

68 Interview with Jonathan HILL

69 Interview with Michele CENTENARO, Senior Manager of UEFA Club Competitions

70 Interview with Geneviève BERTI, Communication Manager of G-14. For Berti, ‘UEFA have three major roles. 1-“Guardian of the Text” They have the power of the word of football and how it is organised, structured, administered. 2-“Guardian of the Spirit” They are concerned with the spirit of the game and its preservation. 3-“Guardian of the Discipline” They are the

“arbitrator” of the disciplinary matters regarding the sport. They also hold a “co-organiser” power in the running of the sport because of their global perspective. Consistent with international football, UEFA has the responsibility of the social dimension of football and its development.’

71 Interview with Freddy RUMO, President of the Executive Board of Neuchâtel Xamax FC.

2.1.3. UEFA’S ORGANISATION