The UEFA Congress (French: Congrès de l'UEFA, German: UEFA-Kongress) is the supreme controlling organ of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). UEFA is the administrative body for association football and futsal in Europe, and is one of six continental confederations of world football's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). UEFA consists of 55 member associations.[1]

Arched version of the UEFA logo

The congresses may be ordinary or extraordinary. Ordinary congresses meet annually, typically between February and May. An extraordinary congress may be convened by the UEFA Executive Committee, or at the written request of one fifth or more of the UEFA member associations, to deal with financial matters and/or matters of particular significance. Each of the 55 members of UEFA has one vote in the congress. The members of UEFA are responsible for electing the UEFA president and the members of the UEFA Executive Committee.[2]

The most recent edition, the 48th Ordinary UEFA Congress, was held on 8 February 2024 in Paris, France. The next congress is scheduled to be held on 3 April 2025 in Belgrade, Serbia

History

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UEFA was founded on 15 June 1954 in Basel, Switzerland,[3] and began with 31 members.[4] The first congress was held the following year, on 2 March 1955 in Vienna, Austria. Until 1968, the meetings were known as general assemblies.[4] The first extraordinary congress was held on 11 December 1959 in Paris, France. The most recent extraordinary congress was held on 20 September 2017 in Zürich, the 13th to take place. The ordinary congress was initially held annually up until 1958, when the delegates decided to amend the UEFA Statutes so the congress would follow a biennial schedule. Starting in 2003, the congress returned to an annual meeting, which was decided at the congress in 2002, mainly to facilitate the financial management of UEFA.[4] On three occasions, two congress—an ordinary and extraordinary—have been held in the same year (in 1968, 2007 and 2017), while 2016 was the only year to see three congresses take place, due to two extraordinary meetings being held. The congress is typically held on a single day, though four congresses were held over two consecutive days: in 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2009.

All congresses have been held within a UEFA member association, except for the 4th Extraordinary UEFA Congress, which took place in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Italy has hosted both the most overall and ordinary congresses with seven, all taking placing in Rome, of which five were ordinary and two extraordinary. Switzerland has hosted the most extraordinary congresses with five, though Rome is tied with Geneva and Zürich for the most extraordinary congresses by city with two. Four cities have held both an ordinary and extraordinary congress: Helsinki, London, Paris and Rome. As of 2023, the 47 ordinary congresses have been held in 31 cities, while the 13 extraordinary congresses have been held in 10 cities, for a total of 60 congresses in 36 cities.[5]

Responsibilities

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The following matters are within the power of the UEFA Congress:[1]

  • receipt and consideration of the annual report, financial report and the auditors' report
  • approval of the annual accounts and budget
  • election of the UEFA president
  • election of UEFA Executive Committee members
  • ratification of the Executive Committee members elected by the European Club Association and European Leagues
  • election of the European members of the FIFA Council
  • election of the auditing body
  • amendments to the UEFA Statutes
  • addition or removal of a member association
  • decisions on the lifting or continuation of the suspension of a member association, UEFA Executive Committee member or a member of another body
  • bestowal of honorary presidency or membership

List of congresses

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  This colour background and the * symbol indicate that the congress elected the UEFA president.

Ordinary

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Number Date(s) City
1 (I) * 2 March 1955   Vienna
2 (II) 8 June 1956   Lisbon
3 (III) 28 June 1957   Copenhagen
4 (IV) * 4 June 1958   Stockholm
5 (V) 21 August 1960   Rome
6 (VI) * 17 April 1962   Sofia
7 (VII) 17 June 1964   Madrid
8 (VIII) * 6 July 1966   London
9 (IX) 7 June 1968   Rome
10 (X) * 8 May 1970   Dubrovnik
11 (XI) 7 June 1972   Vienna
12 (XII) * 22 May 1974   Edinburgh
13 (XIII) 15 June 1976   Stockholm
14 (XIV) * 22 April 1978   Istanbul
15 (XV) 21 June 1980   Rome
16 (XVI) * 28 April 1982   Dresden
17 (XVII) * 26 June 1984   Paris
18 (XVIII) * 24 April 1986   Cascais
19 (XIX) 24 June 1988   Munich
20 (XX) * 19 April 1990   St. Julian's[6]
21 (XXI) 25 June 1992   Gothenburg
22 (XXII) * 28 April 1994   Vienna
23 (XXIII) 29 June 1996   London
24 (XXIV) * 30 April 1998   Dublin
25 (XXV) 30 June – 1 July 2000   Luxembourg City[7]
26 (XXVI) * 25 April 2002   Stockholm
27 (XXVII) 27 March 2003   Rome
28 (XXVIII) 22–23 April 2004   Limassol
29 (XXIX) 21 April 2005   Tallinn
30 (XXX) 23 March 2006   Budapest
31 (XXXI) * 25–26 January 2007   Düsseldorf
32 (XXXII) 31 January 2008   Zagreb
33 (XXXIII) 25–26 March 2009   Copenhagen
34 (XXXIV) 25 March 2010   Tel Aviv
35 (XXXV) * 22 March 2011   Paris
36 (XXXVI) 22 March 2012   Istanbul
37 (XXXVII) 24 May 2013   London
38 (XXXVIII) 27 March 2014   Astana[8]
39 (XXXIX) * 24 March 2015   Vienna[9]
40 (XL) 3 May 2016   Budapest[10]
41 (XLI) 5 April 2017   Helsinki[11]
42 (XLII) 26 February 2018   Bratislava[12]
43 (XLIII) * 7 February 2019   Rome[13]
44 (XLIV) 3 March 2020   Amsterdam[14]
45 (XLV) 20 April 2021[note 1]   Montreux[17]
46 (XLVI) 11 May 2022   Vienna[18]
47 (XLVII) * 5 April 2023   Lisbon[19]
48 (XLVIII) 8 February 2024   Paris[20][note 2]
49 (XLIX) 3 April 2025   Belgrade[22]

Extraordinary

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Number Date City
1 (I) 11 December 1959   Paris
2 (II) 27 September 1961   London
3 (III) 7 June 1968   Rome
4 (IV) 16 June 1971   Monte Carlo[23]
5 (V) * 15 March 1973   Rome
6 (VI) 19 September 1991   Montreux
7 (VII) 17 June 1993   Geneva
8 (VIII) 24 September 1997   Helsinki
9 (IX) 11 October 2001   Prague
10 (X) 28 May 2007   Zürich
11 (XI) 25 February 2016   Zürich[24]
12 (XII) * 14 September 2016   Athens[25]
13 (XIII) 20 September 2017   Geneva[26]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The 45th Ordinary UEFA Congress, originally scheduled for 2 March 2021 in Minsk, Belarus,[15] was later moved to Switzerland due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe,[16] and delayed until 20 April 2021.[17]
  2. ^ The 48th Ordinary UEFA Congress, originally to be held in Madrid, Spain,[21] was later relocated to Paris.

References

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  1. ^ a b "UEFA Congress". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  2. ^ "UEFA Statutes" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. February 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Happy 60th birthday, UEFA!". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Vieli, André (2014). "UEFA: 60 years at the heart of football" (PDF). UEFA.com. Nyon: Union of European Football Associations. p. 169. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  5. ^ "UEFA Congress" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Editorial". Bulletin officiel de l'UEFA. No. 130. Union of European Football Associations. March 1990. Representatives of the mass media who wish to attend the 20th Ordinary Congress of the European Football Union on April 19, 1990, at the Hilton International Hotel in Malta (opening 9.30 hours)...
  7. ^ "Geoff Thompson in running for UEFA Executive". SportBusiness. 2000. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020. The elections will take place at the XXV UEFA Congress, to be held at Alvissa Parc Hotel in Luxembourg on June 30th.
  8. ^ "UEFA Congress in Kazakhstan". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Candidates for election at XXXIX Ordinary UEFA Congress". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  10. ^ "40th Ordinary UEFA Congress in Budapest". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  11. ^ "41st Ordinary UEFA Congress in Helsinki". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  12. ^ "42nd Ordinary UEFA Congress in Bratislava". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  13. ^ "43rd Ordinary UEFA Congress in Rome". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  14. ^ "44th Ordinary UEFA Congress in Amsterdam". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  15. ^ "UEFA Congress meets in Amsterdam". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Two triple-headers approved for 2021 March and September national team windows". UEFA. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Tirana to host first UEFA Europa Conference League Final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  18. ^ "UEFA Congress condemns breakaway plans". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  19. ^ "UEFA EURO 2024 match schedule approved". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Warsaw to host 2024 UEFA Super Cup". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  21. ^ "Aleksander Čeferin re-elected UEFA President by acclamation". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  22. ^ "UEFA Strategy 2024–30 "United for Success" approved". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  23. ^ "Circular letters". Bulletin officiel de l'UEFA. No. 55. Union of European Football Associations. June 1971. 4th Extraordinary Congress of UEFA on June 16th, 1971, in Monte Carlo.
  24. ^ "11th Extraordinary UEFA Congress in Zurich". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  25. ^ "President to be elected at 12th Extraordinary UEFA Congress in Athens". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  26. ^ "13th Extraordinary UEFA Congress in Geneva". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
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