UEFA

The European Court of Justice ruled that European football's governing body UEFA and its parent organization FIFA violated EU laws by preventing 12 clubs from establishing the European Super League
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA /juːˈeɪfə/ yoo-AY-fə; French: Union des associations européennes de football;[a] German: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände)[b] is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan, as well as some Asian countries such as Israel, Cyprus and Armenia.[3] UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Since 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.
UEFA consists of the national football associations of Europe, and runs national and club competitions including the UEFA European Championship, UEFA Nations League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, and UEFA Super Cup, and also controls the prize money, regulations, as well as media rights to those competitions.

History and membership

UEFA was officially inaugurated on 15 June 1954 in Basel, Switzerland after consultation between the Italian, French, and Belgian associations. At the founding meeting, 25 members were present. However, 6 other associations which were not present were still recognised as founding members, bringing the total of founding associations to 31. UEFA grew to more than 50 members by the mid-1990s, as new associations were born out of the fragmentation of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia into their constituent states.
UEFA's main headquarters after its foundation were located in Paris, but moved to Bern in 1960. They moved to Nyon, Switzerland, in 1995, where they operated out of temporary offices until 1999 while the organisation's current headquarters were under construction.
National teams represented by UEFA are known for being successful throughout the history of the FIFA World Cup. Out of 22 tournaments so far, European teams have won 12 World Cup titles. Italy and Germany have four titles each, followed by France with two titles and England and Spain, winning once each. The national associations of these countries also are responsible for organizing the so-called "Big Five European Leagues", consisting of Spain's La Liga, England's Premier League, Germany's Bundesliga, Italy's Serie A and France's Ligue 1.

Corruption and controversy

Dissatisfied fans across Europe have referred to the organisation as UEFA mafia, including in Russia's top league, in Bulgaria's top league, and in a Champions League group stage match held in Sweden. The term has also been covered for its use outside of stadiums, for example during a protest in Kosovo outside an EU building following the Serbia v Albania (UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying) match. F.C. Copenhagen supporters displayed banners around the city, with slogans such as "UEFA MAFIA - THE PANDEMIC OF FOOTBALL", when UEFA ordered their 2019-20 Europa League round of 16 return leg be played behind closed doors, despite reduced capacity being allowed by the Danish government.
Manchester City argued that Etisalat had repaid the £30 million in 2015, but the UEFA adjudicatory committee did not accept this. In 2019, the committee imposed a two-year European ban on City, which was overturned a year later by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The CAS ruled that the £30 million payments could not be considered rule breaches because they were time-barred. Premier League and UEFA financial rules allows unlimited amount of sponsorship funding into the club while limiting the amount of equity funding into the club to cover losses.