ECA Regional Meeting, which was held in Donetsk at "Donbass Arena", hosted by FC Shakhtar Donetsk was mainly used to inform the member clubs present about the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding with UEFA, but also to gather the clubs' views and opinions on different matters. The international Calendar, Medical Protocol between club and national team, negotiations with FIFA, amendments to the UCL and UEL regulations and other interesting topics were discussed on this meeting. The Head of International Department of Dinamo Tbilisi - Tea Shamatava has attended the Regional Meeting.
Tea Shamatava - First of all, it should be noted, that Memorandum of Understanding, which European Club Assocoation (ECA) has signed with UEFA includes the most important points for each football club. According to the new agreement UEFA will establish an insurance covering the injury risk of players while on international team duty. This insurance will be valid for all players registered with a European club, irrespective of their nationality, and for both official and friendly matches. Also Clubs will now receive an increased amount of 100 Million EUR from the UEFA EURO 2012 revenues and further this amount will be increased to 150 Million EUR for the UEFA EURO 2016.
Moreover it must be mentioned, that in future, the Club Competitions' committee, composed essentially of club representatives, will have a "Referral Right" on all decisions affecting club competitions.
An important topic is also the amendments to the UCL and UEL regulations (cycle 2012/2015). UEFA Executive Committee accepted the proposal which was brought up by ECA in the Club Competitions Committee. One of those important proposals is the new rule on players' eligibility, which allows any player who was fielded during UCL or UEL qualification matches (including the UCL or UEL play-offs) to be eligible to play for his new club as from the UCL or UEL Group stage.
The following matter discussed on the ECA Regional Meeting was the Medical Protocol between club and national team. The protocol sets out clearly the rules relating to the rights of Club doctors and international team doctors for players injured on international duty. The aim is to develop a clear procedure when issues arise with regards to injured players.