XXXVI UEFA Ordinary Congress decisions
Thursday, March 22, 2012
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The UEFA Congress saw renewed Memorandums of Understanding signed with the European Club Association, European Professional Football Leagues and FIFPro Division Europe.
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The XXXVI Ordinary UEFA Congress was held on 22 March in Istanbul and was the occasion for signature ceremonies of the renewed Memorandums of Understanding that have been agreed with the European Club Association (ECA), the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) and the players' union FIFPro Division Europe.
The major decisions taken by the UEFA Congress included the approval of minimum contractual requirements for players' contracts (the so-called Autonomous Agreement) as a consequence of the European social dialogue bringing together representatives of the employers and of the employees.
Such requirements should be enforced in the territories of all UEFA member associations within a period of three years. Before the agreement can be implemented, it must be approved by the decision-making bodies of all the other parties involved in the European social dialogue: the ECA, the EPFL and FIFPro Division Europe. It is planned that an official signing ceremony could then take place in Brussels in April this year.
A number of changes were made to the UEFA Statutes, including:
• the possibility to convene a second Ordinary Congress the same year as the first in order to deal with financial matters and/or matters of particular significance
• the appointment of a woman as an additional UEFA Executive Committee member with the same rights and duties as the other Executive Committee members
• to establish the Club Financial Control Body as a UEFA Organ for the Administration of Justice, allowing it to take disciplinary measures
• the creation of three new appropriate disciplinary measures: withholding of revenues from a UEFA competition; prohibition on registering new players in UEFA competitions; and a restriction on the number of players a club may register in UEFA competitions
Finally, it was agreed to extend the term of office of UEFA committee and expert panel members from two to four years.
The UEFA Congress also approved the Report of the UEFA President and the Executive Committee as well as the Report of the UEFA Administration 2010/11.
In addition, the annual consolidated statement of accounts 2010/11, UEFA's association accounts 2010/11, and the budget for the 2012/13 financial year, were all approved.
The XXXVII Ordinary UEFA Congress will be staged in London on 24 May 2013.
