The European Commission has renewed its cooperation agreement with UEFA, giving formal backing to European football's governing body and to the model of open competition built on sporting merit. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and EU Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef renewed the arrangement at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland. Inside World Football reported the renewal on 10 November, while a report reproducing UEFA's announcement said the signing took place on 9 November.

The agreement recognises UEFA as the sole responsible European governing body for football. It backs a unified, open system in which clubs earn their place in competitions on the pitch, through promotion and relegation and merit-based qualification from domestic leagues to European competitions. It also reaffirms the principle that domestic league matches should be played in their home territory, preserving the link between clubs, their communities and their supporters.

What the renewed agreement covers

National-team football receives particular recognition in the agreement. The men's and women's UEFA EURO tournaments are described as celebrations of European unity and as essential sources of solidarity and sustainable funding for the game. The agreement also underlines the importance of a balanced international match calendar, so that club and national-team competitions can sit alongside each other without one crowding out the other.

Inclusive governance is another central theme. The Commission backs UEFA's representative model, with leagues, clubs, players and supporters involved in shaping the future of the game. The agreement emphasises financial redistribution across the football pyramid, so that money generated at the top supports the levels below, and extends cooperation on women's football, inclusion, healthy lifestyles and football's wider contribution to European society.

Ceferin said: "Football in Europe has achieved extraordinary sporting and commercial success without abandoning its roots. A place in a competition is earned on the pitch. The strongest parts of the game contribute to those below them. Clubs and national teams mutually reinforce one another. And nobody owns football simply because they happen to govern it."

Micallef said the agreement reaffirmed support for open competitions, strong national-team football and inclusive governance, adding: "Recent failures in global football governance make this partnership all the more important. Alongside UEFA the Commission stands for protecting the values and structures that have made European football a leading European success story." He also linked the renewal to the Commission's forthcoming strategy to reinforce the European Sport Model.

Why the backing matters now

The endorsement comes at a time of open tension between UEFA and world football's governing body, FIFA. Inside World Football notes that UEFA has led criticism of FIFA President Gianni Infantino over a plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private equity, prompting calls for his resignation. Against that background, the Commission's decision to renew its agreement with UEFA reads as a clear statement of which model of football governance Brussels supports.

The renewed Arrangement for Cooperation will remain in force until 31 December 2029. UEFA, a not-for-profit organisation, works with 55 member associations across Europe and says it invests 97.5% of its revenue in football-related activities, projects and initiatives, covering the men's and women's professional game as well as youth, grassroots and futsal football.