Eleven clubs on new Forum board

Officials from eleven clubs will sit on the inaugural board of the new European Club Forum, a newly-formed vehicle through which UEFA and Europe's clubs will deal with issues of mutual interest.

102 clubs
In sitting on the board, representatives of the eleven clubs will themselves represent the 102 clubs from UEFA's 52 member associations who will comprise the new forum, the establishment of which was agreed upon at a two-day meeting of the UEFA Club Panel in Nyon, Switzerland on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Four collegiums
The 102 clubs have been divided into four collegiums in accordance with the national associations' ranking table and with a similar number of clubs each.

Rankings 1 to 6
On the board, five clubs - Real Madrid CF (Spain), S.S. Lazio (Italy), Manchester United FC (England), FC Bayern München (Germany) and Olympique Lyonnais (France) will represent 27 clubs from rankings one to six in the association list.

Other board representatives
Galatasaray SK (Turkey), FC Porto (Portugal) and FC Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine) will represent 27 clubs from association rankings 7 to 15, Rangers FC (Scotland) and Grasshopper-Club (Switzerland) will represent 22 clubs from association rankings 16 to 25, and PFC Litex Lovech (Bulgaria) will represent 26 clubs from association rankings 26 to 52.

One year
The composition of the board may be revised in a year's time on the basis of an election carried out within the forum.

Consultation and dialogue
The forum, which will replace the Club Panel, is designed to reinforce the consultation and dialogue process between UEFA and clubs across the continent. UEFA signalled its intention to launch a club forum earlier this year, in recognition of the vital role played by Europe's clubs within European football's ever-changing environment.

Wide spectrum
The club forum, which will meet at least twice a year, will deal with matters covering a wide spectrum of the European game including, among other things, competition formats, marketing and rights strategies, and developments and partnership opportunities within the field of new communications.

Historic moment
"We have witnessed a historic moment with the creation of the European club forum," said the director of UEFA's Professional Football and Marketing division, Lars-Christer Olsson.

Important step
"It is important to create this interaction between UEFA and the clubs participating in the European competitions, and to make it work," he added. "This is an important step forward in European football."