Football: Nasser Al-Khelaïfi re-elected as head of European clubs

Paris SG boss Nasser Al-Khelaïfi was re-elected on Thursday for four years at the head of the powerful European Club Association (ECA), which he has led since the failure in April 2021 of the private Super League project.

Considered one of the most influential men in European football, the 49-year-old Qatari, also boss of the beIN Media group, was at the same time reappointed to the UEFA executive council, where he has sat since 2019 and of which he holds the vice-presidency.

“We made such progress in the last cycle. There has been a huge breakthrough in the role that clubs play in the decisions that shape European club football,” he said at the conclusion of the 30th ECA general assembly in Berlin, according to a press release.

Already a Qatari minister without portfolio, key man in the country's candidacy for the organization of the 2022 World Cup, president of PSG and, with beIN, of a TV rights giant, the leader had further gained in stature thanks to the Super League storm, which almost imploded European football in the spring of 2021.

PSG - just like Bayern Munich - had refused to join the 12 clubs trying to set up a lucrative private league, and Nasser Al-Khelaïfi had taken the presidency of the ECA from Andrea Agnelli, boss of Juventus Turin and head line of mutineers.

Since then, he has contributed to endorsing in the spring of 2022 the new formula for the three European club competitions, which will replace their group stage with a mini-championship from 2024-25, and for which the ECA and UEFA co-manage the revenue. .

Finally, the ECA reformed its governance to make more room for clubs not qualified for European competitions and approached Fifa, through an agreement allowing it to influence the international calendar and the release periods of players. .