The Union of European Clubs (UEC) has unveiled a new strategy for redistributing revenues from UEFA club competitions. At present, 74% of resources go to the Champions League, 17% to the Europa League, and 9% to the Conference League. According to the association, this allocation fuels imbalances in domestic leagues, favoring a small group of clubs that regularly qualify for European competitions and widening competitive gaps.
The redistribution plan
The new model eliminates the “value pillar” linked to rankings and television markets, with 62.5% of funds allocated to participation and the remaining 37.5% tied to sporting results. Distribution among competitions would be more balanced: 50% to the Champions League, 30% to the Europa League, and 20% to the Conference League. Based on simulations for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons, total revenues would exceed €3.5 billion, with significant increases for the Europa League and Conference League compared to the current system.
Impact on Italian clubs
In Italy, 85% of the participation quota would be shared among Serie A clubs and 15% among Serie B clubs. Simulations show that Inter would lose around €68 million, Juventus €47 million, and Atalanta €43 million. Beneficiaries would include Fiorentina ( €12 million) and especially Serie A clubs not involved in European competitions, which would see their solidarity payments rise from €800,000 each to €8.6 million.
UEC’s reasoning
A spokesperson explained: “What we all agree on, and have always agreed on, is that we want UEC’s policies, models and ideas to be simple. They must be easy to explain quickly. They must not require endless explanations. Our proposal is understandable. And that’s the point: finding a simple solution to a complex problem is extremely difficult.”
The UEC argues that the only realistic way to rebalance the system is to intervene on centralized TV revenues, reducing the concentration of resources among elite clubs. “It is clear that almost three quarters of total revenues go to the Champions League and a significant portion of these are distributed based on value and performance. This means that elite clubs are the main beneficiaries of the system. Consequently, any significant redistribution can only come from taking resources from those clubs,” the spokesperson added.
The proposal has been presented to UEFA, the European Leagues, and the European Commission, but not to top clubs, who would likely resist a model that drains their income. The UEC aims to spark debate for the 2027–2031 cycle, hoping to slow the widening of competitive gaps. “Today it seems that big clubs are running further away from the rest of the system. If we could even just slow down this process, it would already be something,” the spokesperson concluded.
