UEFA pays €70m advance to clubs for releasing players

UEFA has paid out €70million of benefits in advance to clubs that released players for European Championship qualifiers and the Nations League. The European football governing body has also decided decisions regarding other decisions will be made in May. 

Following a meeting of its executive committee on Thursday, UEFA announced payments that were scheduled to be made upon completion of the Euro play-offs – which were postponed in March amid the coronavirus pandemic – have been brought forward.

According to the governing body, 676 clubs from its 55 member associations will receive amounts ranging from €3,200 to €630,000 for allowing their players to participate.

The funds form a chunk of a €200m pot UEFA distributes to teams as part of the memorandum of understanding with the European Club Association (ECA).

The remaining €130m will be shared among clubs that release players for the European Championship, which was pushed back from June and July this year to 2021 as result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

"European clubs are an integral part of the success of our national team competitions," said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

"As a result, a share of our national team competition revenues is distributed to the clubs which release players for those matches.

"In these difficult times when many clubs are facing financial issues, especially with their cash flow, it was our duty to make sure that clubs receive these payments as quickly as possible."

ECA chairman Andrea Agnelli said: "This represents a much-needed liquidity injection into club finances and is a result of ECA's joint work with UEFA on safeguarding clubs at this time of existential threat.

"Whilst public health remains our primary concern, securing financial, legal and regulatory relief in advance of restarting football across Europe, once it is safe to do so, is of paramount importance to ECA and its members."