Real Madrid's Strategic Return to EFC: The Super League's Hidden Legacy
The European football landscape witnessed a significant development as Real Madrid president Florentino Perez orchestrated a return to the European Football Clubs (EFC), the influential lobby group formerly known as the European Club Association. This move, announced during a UEFA Executive Committee meeting on Thursday 12 February 2026, has been widely interpreted as a climbdown from the doomed Super League project. However, a deeper analysis reveals a more complex narrative of power consolidation and strategic maneuvering.
The Super League's Enduring Influence
While the Super League project itself collapsed, its underlying objectives have permeated European football's governance structures. The ill-fated initiative was merely one manifestation of a broader ambition among elite clubs to exert greater control over the club game. Perez's return to the EFC fold, alongside UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and EFC chairman Nasser Al Khelaifi, represents not defeat but strategic adaptation.
Al-Khelaifi's dismissal of notions that Perez "lost" in the Super League debacle underscores this perspective. The reality is that the Overton window of football governance has shifted permanently, with big clubs achieving unprecedented influence through institutional channels rather than breakaway competitions.
The New Power Structure
The aftermath of the Super League controversy has fundamentally altered football's power dynamics. The strengthened partnership between UEFA and the Al-Khelaifi-led EFC has created UC3, a joint venture that now co-manages the Champions League and European club competitions. This arrangement has elevated the EFC to near-equal status with UEFA and FIFA, creating what many stakeholders describe as a "third authority" in global football.
Beneath the surface of this united front, significant dissent persists. Many within the football community view these developments as merely accommodating Super League power dynamics rather than resolving underlying conflicts. The growing membership of the Union of European Clubs and private discussions at recent congresses reveal ongoing concerns about the concentration of power.
Financial Implications and Transparency Concerns
The new Champions League format is increasingly viewed as an institutionalized version of the Super League, albeit with more concessions to smaller clubs. Similarly, FIFA's new Club World Cup, developed with EFC involvement, raises concerns about prize money distribution and ecosystem destabilization. While the EFC highlights a €250 million solidarity commitment to non-participating clubs, critics note this amount spreads thinly across global football.
Transparency has emerged as a central issue, particularly regarding UEFA's annual €25 million funding to the EFC. This allocation, stemming from a 2008 Memorandum of Understanding, has grown significantly without clear public formulas for calculation. With fewer than 150 clubs enjoying full EFC membership rights, some stakeholders describe this as "an involuntary levy toward a lobby group" that advances a model many disagree with.
The Evolving Football Ecosystem
The EFC defends its position by emphasizing increased solidarity payments, formal international representation agreements, and new revenue streams that benefit all clubs. However, critics argue this growth has occurred alongside the EFC's own expansion, creating a self-reinforcing cycle where power and money increasingly concentrate among elite clubs.
The partnership with UC3 involves trading away part of national associations' share of European competition revenue without compensation, raising further questions about governance. As domestic leagues face erosion from elite competition formats, many observers see parallels with the original Super League criticisms.
Looking Toward 2030 and Beyond
Perez's satisfaction with current arrangements suggests the Super League's legal challenges have ultimately strengthened his position within both UEFA and FIFA. This raises important questions about the post-2030 football cycle, including potential Champions League expansion, conference splits, and the Club World Cup's evolving role.
Multiple sources believe Madrid "must feel something is in the works," highlighting the need for greater transparency regarding power distribution between UEFA and the EFC. As state-linked funds and US institutional money increasingly dominate club ownership, the influence of figures like Perez and Al-Khelaifi continues to grow, reshaping football's future in ways the Super League only hinted at.
