Message from
the UEFA President
Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA President
It is my pleasure to address you in this foreword.
In previous years, it has been tradition – perhaps duty – to congratulate the winners of UEFA’s club competitions, commend our organisations’ work and commit to facing challenges together. This season is different – one of the most adverse seasons ever, with unprecedented challenges affecting the sport at all levels.
For 2019/20, the honour and duty to congratulate, commend and commit goes far beyond the winners of competitions, reaching into the tragedy and disruption that people, clubs, countries and the world have endured and overcome.
Yet, when we are challenged, even in tragic moments as with COVID-19, societies and individuals often find their most inspiring selves, capable of persevering and spreading hope. We must all be proud of how European football responded and how ECA member clubs inspired solidarity and spread hope.
From Atalanta to Paris Saint-Germain, all clubs in the final rounds of the UEFA Champions League have been champions in helping to ensure people comply with government regulations on social distancing. We all congratulate FC Bayern Munich for their astounding 11-match winning run to claim their sixth Champions League title. An achievement that shines all the brighter in light of their and other German clubs’ efforts to set up a solidarity fund worth €20 million to help clubs struggling to cope with the economic consequences of German football’s shutdown.
From Arsenal to Wolfsburg, all clubs in the final rounds of UEFA Women's Champions League launched countless initiatives to support communities during football’s long period of inactivity, including raising funds to purchase life-saving medical equipment, delivering food to the vulnerable or using the sport’s reach to deliver vital health messages.
Football stood together. We acted in solidarity and assumed our responsibilities to take bold decisions and act for the benefit of all – even when this was not in our individual best interests. UEFA did not hesitate to lead and make the biggest sacrifice. Moving EURO 2020 came at a huge cost but purpose over profit was our guiding principle. Together with our swift decision to suspend UEFA club competitions, we were able to give vital time and space for domestic leagues and competitions to resume and finish. Without this, there would have been a number of teams across Europe who simply would not have been able to survive.
This crisis, and other issues, will continue to have serious implications. Rest assured, European football has seen off crisis and challenge before. Whatever issues we face on the horizon – international match calendar, competition reform, financial sustainability, competitive balance to name just a few – if we keep our common values at the heart of our partnership, we will ensure long term stability and prosperity for European football.
The football community has worked together and shown tremendous unity during this unprecedented crisis. I am convinced that we will come out of it stronger and with closer links than ever before. I am personally grateful to the ECA for the spirit of solidarity in which we persevere.
Aleksander Čeferin
UEFA President