End of giants' dominance? Union of European Clubs proposes radical redistribution of billions of euros

The Union of European Clubs (UEC) has proposed a radical model for distributing UEFA revenues, involving the allocation of approximately 2 billion euros in prize money to all clubs from the first and second competition levels in Europe. The proposal, presented during a March meeting in Sofia, aims to reduce the growing financial gap between elite and smaller teams. The UEC advocates for a fundamental change in the distribution of funds among the three main European cups to support teams outside the absolute top tier. The current distribution ratio of funds between the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League is 74-17-9, while the new concept proposes proportions of 50-30-20. This change is intended to directly challenge the financial dominance of the richest organizations and increase the attractiveness of less prestigious competitions.

A key element of the plan is the complete abolition of bonuses based on historical ranking, the so-called coefficients, which currently favor clubs with an established position on the continent. Instead of direct payments to group stage participants, the money would go to national leagues. This mechanism aims to improve competitive balance within individual countries, preventing a situation where one club dominates the local scene thanks to regular UEFA income. UEC representatives argue that the current system leads to excessive predictability of results in European football. The reform is intended to ensure that the funds serve the development of the entire sport, not just a narrow group of the strongest entities. The Union of European Clubs (UEC) was founded in 2023 as an alternative to the European Club Association (ECA), which, according to the founders of the new organization, primarily represents the interests of the richest clubs. Since its inception, the UEC has sought to increase the influence of smaller and medium-sized clubs on decision-making processes in European football. UEFA has faced criticism for years over favoring the giants, which in the past led to attempts to create a closed Super League in 2021.

The current financial situation of UEFA shows deep disparities, as out of 4.4 billion euros in annual revenue, only 308 million euros go to clubs that did not qualify for the group stage. These solidarity payments constitute only a fraction of the federation's budget, which, according to smaller federations, is insufficient to maintain healthy competition. Frustration in the environment is further exacerbated by delays in FIFA's solidarity payments related to the Club World Cup. The new model is intended to be a response to these challenges and an attempt to save the competitiveness of football at the continental level through a fairer distribution of generated profits. The plan presented in Bulgaria is a signal of growing resistance from smaller clubs to the current status quo in European football. UEFA revenue distribution (current vs proposed): Champions League (current): 74, Champions League (proposal): 50, Europa League (current): 17, Europa League (proposal): 30, Conference League (current): 9, Conference League (proposal): 20