UEFA, the players' union FIFPro and the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) have announced plans to reinforce their relations on a Europe-wide level, to help bolster the future of the game on this continent.

Mutual interest
The three organisations, who have already met twice in recent months, have agreed to recognise each other as the appropriate parties to start a European football dialogue. They say that the agenda for further discussion could cover items of potential mutual interest, such as the European Commission's 'Social Dialogue' programme.

Major leagues
EPFL is the grouping of major European leagues and was founded in 1998. The EPFL - and through it the hundreds of professional football clubs that it represents - is involved in international football structures via UEFA's Professional Football Committee, one of the European governing body’s standing committees, which is comprised principally of representatives of the top leagues in Europe.

Social dialogue contract
FIFPro is the major worldwide representative organisation for professional football players, and has a contract with the European Commission's Employment and Social Affairs Directorate-General to develop the European Union's 'Social Dialogue' programme within the professional industry. FIFPro is affiliated with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) that represents 60 million workers in Europe.

'Better future'
"Such a framework between UEFA, the leagues and the players' unions could help build a better future for European football, in the interests of all stakeholders," UEFA said in a statement in Tuesday. "All three organisations are important, direct, stakeholders in European professional football. They are also all organisations based on the concept of solidarity – one of the most important values of football."

Olsson pleased
UEFA's Chief Executive, Lars-Christer Olsson, said: "This mutual recognition by the three parties could be a very important step to improve European football throughout the EU and the rest of Europe. We are pleased to have been able to bring representatives of both employers [EPFL] and employees [FIFPro] to the table within the football structures."

Collective voice
Gerardo Movilla, president of the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), who is also vice-president of FIFPro, said: "FIFPro is the only collective voice and representative of players. FIFPro was asked by the EC to establish a social dialogue in professional football, and we are very happy that towards this social dialogue this first step was taken to establish a branch dialogue."

Symbolic step
The chairman of UEFA's professional football committee, Pedro Tomás, who also serves as president of the Spanish Football League (LFP), described the steps towards greater dialogue as "an important symbolic step for the leagues and the clubs they represent. However, any discussion will be according to the needs and approval of those that we represent, namely the hundreds of professional clubs across Europe".