UEFA statement on today’s judgment of the Madrid Commercial Court No.17 in the European Super League case

UEFA takes note of today’s judgment from the Madrid Commercial Court.

In particular, UEFA is pleased to note that the judge confirmed the validity of a pre-authorisation system being in place for third party competitions to be approved under UEFA’s authorisation rules and recognised the undoubted benefits of such rules for the football sporting system. The court also confirmed that the current version of UEFA’s authorisation rules (as adopted in June 2022) is not affected by today’s ruling.

Further, the court has not given the green light to, nor has it approved, projects like the Super League. In fact, the judge has asserted that the Super League project has long been abandoned and that she cannot be expected to rule on any abstract projects. In short, the judgment does not give third parties the right to develop competitions without authorisation and does not concern any future project or indeed any modified version of an existing project.

In any case, UEFA will take time to study the judgment before deciding whether any further action is necessary.

About UEFA

UEFA is the governing body of European football and a not-for-profit organisation which supports and ensures the world’s most popular sport continues to thrive at all levels across its 55 member associations. As part of its commitment, UEFA invests 97% of its revenue in football-related activities, projects and initiatives that ensure the continued development of the men's and women's professional game as well as youth, grassroots and futsal.