Barcelona To Join ECA as Super League Project Loses Steam

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has attended the European Club Association (ECA) General Assembly in Berlin, chaired by PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi.

Spanish outlet MARCA reported that Laporta, joined by vice-president Rafa Yuste, was personally welcomed by Al-Khelaifi at the hotel hosting the event. It comes as relations between the two have improved following last week’s Champions League match in Barcelona.

Although Barcelona are not yet a member of the ECA, the club is understood to be moving closer to joining the organisation. That would leave Real Madrid as the only major club still backing the European Super League project.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin addressed the assembly, saying: “From the outside, they are proposing a change of model, but everything will be done from a position of unity.”

Laporta’s presence signals Barcelona’s growing alignment with UEFA, as the club looks to strengthen ties with football’s governing bodies. The Catalans have also reached a special arrangement with UEFA to play a La Liga match against Villarreal in Miami, USA.

La Liga president Javier Tebas said he hopes Barcelona will fully abandon the Super League. “I hope so. I think President Laporta said something similar and showed some kind of loss of confidence in the project,” he told COPE. “I would be very happy if Barcelona abandoned this project and became more involved in European projects.”

Tebas also commented on the club’s delayed return to Camp Nou. “I haven’t spoken or known anything beyond what I’ve read,” he said. “Sometimes different dates are mentioned. There are licenses and issues, and they hope to play as soon as possible at their stadium.”

“For me, I would have loved for them to have already returned to their own stadium,” he added. “However, if these issues must be faced in order to end up playing in a top-tier stadium as Barcelona is doing, it will be worth the wait.”

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona’s stance towards UEFA has shifted after the governing body introduced changes to the Champions League format and increased financial rewards for clubs.