UEFA welcomes Opinion of CJEU Advocate General on homegrown players rule
Thursday, March 9, 2023
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UEFA welcomes today's Opinion of Advocate General Szpunar of the Court of Justice of the European Union which endorses its important social and sporting mission to incentivise football clubs to invest in the training of young players and improve competitive balance across the whole of Europe.
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UEFA welcomes the Opinion of Advocate General Szpunar in case C-680/21 Royal Antwerp Football Club regarding the legality of UEFA's and the Royal Belgian Football Association's rules requiring clubs playing in European and Belgian club competitions respectively to register a minimum number of players to be trained locally.The Advocate General endorses UEFA's commitment to encourage youth development and competitive balance across Europe. As the Advocate General notes, "the 'beautiful game' would lose some of its attraction" without rules pursuing those objectives. In doing so, he recognises that football is not just a commercial activity but also of "considerable social importance".
UEFA also takes note of the Advocate General's recommendation to improve the effectiveness of the existing rules in place.
UEFA now looks forward to the judgment of the CJEU and, in the meantime, will continue to be focused on its central mission to nurture every level of the European football pyramid based on open exciting competitions, robust solidarity mechanisms, sporting merit and a world-leading youth system, in close cooperation with national associations, leagues, clubs, players, fans and public authorities.