UEFA Survey on Professional League Organisations 2009/10 UEFA Professional Footbal l Services p. 1 CONTENTS Introduction .............................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Background.................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Purpose........................................................................................................ 4 1.3 Definitions .................................................................................................... 4 2. Different Types of League Organisations ................................................... 5 2.1 The Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL).......... 5 2.2 Premier Professional League Organisations in Europe ............................... 5 2.3 Non-Premier Professional League Organisations in Europe........................ 6 2.4 Other Groups of Clubs in Europe................................................................. 6 3. League Structures......................................................................................... 7 3.1 Legal Forms................................................................................................. 7 3.2 Status of Players of Member Clubs.............................................................. 8 3.3 Number of Member Clubs............................................................................ 9 4. League Organisation................................................................................... 13 4.1 President/Chairman ................................................................................... 13 4.2 Assembly/Congress and Board/Management Committee ......................... 15 4.3 Number of Employees ............................................................................... 17 4.4 Direct Influence in National Association..................................................... 17 5. League Competences ................................................................................. 19 5.1 Fixture Scheduling ..................................................................................... 19 5.2 Commercial Sales...................................................................................... 20 5.3 Refereeing ................................................................................................. 20 5.4 Disciplinary................................................................................................. 21 5.5 Summary of Organisational Competences ................................................ 21 5.6 Representation........................................................................................... 23 5.7 Competitions & Sponsorship...................................................................... 24 6. League Domestic Competition................................................................... 28 6.1 Promotion and Relegation.......................................................................... 28 7. Guidance for the Reader............................................................................. 30 7.1 Interpretation of the Data ........................................................................... 30 7.2 Limitations of the Report ............................................................................ 30 7.3 Survey Methodology .................................................................................. 30 7.4 Response Rate .......................................................................................... 31 7.5 Further Information .................................................................................... 31 Annex 1 EPFL Members and Associate Members............................................... 32 Annex 2 Countries without a Separate Professional League Organisation...... 33 Annex 3 Summary Table of All Countries ............................................................ 34 p. 2 Annex 4 Transfer Periods 2009-2010.................................................................... 35 Annex 5 EPFL Transfer Periods 2009-2010.......................................................... 36 Annex 6 League Foundation Dates....................................................................... 40 Annex 7 Questionnaire .......................................................................................... 41 p. 3 Introduction 1.1 Background • UEFA has in the past conducted a survey into the different professional league organisations existing across the UEFA Member Associations. • This survey gathers information detailing organisational, political and legal structures, as well as league competences. 1.2 Purpose • The purpose of this survey is to ensure that knowledge and information about professional leagues is current, relevant, accurate and disseminated for the benefit of the football family. • In order to make informed decisions when formulating new policies or regulations, current and up-to-date information about leagues is important so that any potential implications can be anticipated and considered in an informed way. • Thus this report aims to inform and educate all of those within the football family and other stakeholders with facts and trends to assist in understanding the importance and roles of the football leagues. 1.3 Definitions • According to the UEFA Statutes (Edition June 2007), a league is defined as the following: “'League': a combination of clubs within a territory of a Member Association and which is subordinate to and under the authority of that Member Association.” – Definition of Terms, UEFA Statutes (Edition June 2007) • UEFA Member Associations have certain obligations regarding leagues: “Leagues or any other groups of clubs at Member Association level shall only be permitted with the Association’s express consent and shall be subordinate to it. The Association’s statutes shall define the powers apportioned to any such group, as well as its rights and obligations. The statutes and regulations of any such group shall be subject to the approval of the Association.” – Article 7 bis , 3 of the UEFA Statutes (Edition June 2007) p. 4 2. Different Types of League Organisations • In order to reflect the different categories of league organisations we have made various distinctions which may allow different comparisons as follows: 2.1 The Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) • The Association of European Professional Football Leagues (hereafter “EPFL”) is an association of 23 members and 6 associate members, comprising 23 premier professional football leagues, four non-premier professional football leagues plus two other associations of clubs from across Europe. A complete list of EPFL Members is located in Annex 11. • The EPFL has a formal relationship with UEFA which is recognised in a Memorandum of Understanding first signed in 1998. A revised Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the leagues and UEFA in 2005, and on 24 March 2009, the EPFL and UEFA signed and amended Memorandum of Understanding. 2.2 Premier Professional League Organisations in Europe • In addition to the 23 premier professional football leagues belonging to the EPFL, there are also several additional leagues recognised by their National Associations who can be classed as “Premier Professional League Organisations,” but who are not members of the EPFL. These leagues are defined as such according to the responses received from the Member Associations/Leagues to the UEFA Survey of Professional League Organisations. • There is no formal relationship with these leagues; however they may occasionally be directly informed by UEFA about important and relevant issues. These leagues are listed in Table 1 below: Table 1: Premier Professional Leagues not belonging to the EPFL Country League Organisation Association of Professional Clubs of the First Croatia Croatian Football League Georgia Georgian Professional Football League Serbia Union of Football Clubs of Super League Slovakia League Clubs Union Turkey Association of Turkish Super League Clubs 1 Please note that after the initial research of this report the Welsh Premier League ceased to be a member of the EPFL. However, the Welsh Premier League is included in the EPFL sample for the calculations and purpose of this report. p. 5 2.3 Non-Premier Professional League Organisations in Europe • In some countries there exist additional league organisations which are recognised by the National Associations and who also organise professional league competitions. These organisations are listed in Table 2: Table 2: Non-Premier League Organisations in Europe Country League Organisation Belgium Ligue Nationale de Football England The Football League Greece Professional Football League B & C Division Italy Lega Pro Netherlands Jupiler League (Eerste Divisie) Russia Association of Professional Football Leagues Scotland The Scottish Football League Ukraine Professional Football League of Ukraine 2.4 Other Groups of Clubs in Europe • There exist in some countries additional club organisations which are recognised by the National Association but which exist for other specific reasons and handle additional or separate tasks. Examples are the Union des Clubs Professionnels de Football (UCPF) in France and the Federatie van Betaald Voetbal Organisaties (FBO) in the Netherlands. • Additionally, there are many countries where no “separate” professional league organisation exists. In these countries the National Association is responsible