The ECA represents around 230 professional clubs in Europe. The organisation is regularly represented by 24 board members, especially focused on topics relating to the continental football Association UEFA, which acts as the umbrella organisation for all national football associations and as a marketer of European club competitions. In addition to Carro, Dan Friedkin (President, AS Roma) and Oleg Petrov (CEO, AS Monaco) were newly appointed to the ECA Board of Directors.
It became necessary to fill positions on the board after several clubs and their officials represented on the ECA board sought and announced the establishment of a 'Super League' last April – bypassing the bodies of UEFA and ECA. The project failed. At the top of the ECA, Andrea Agnelli, club boss of Juventus, had to resign. With him went six other top officials of the Super League project. And nearly was replaced by Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the Chairman and CEO of the top French club Paris Saint-Germain.
"European football is facing major challenges, and not only because of the pandemic and its consequences. There will be a lot to accomplish in the next few years," said Fernando Carro, who has been the CEO at Bayer 04 since 2018. "I see this responsibility as both an honour and motivation. And I'm delighted that, as representatives of the Bundesliga, we will be given even greater voice, influence and opportunities for input when it comes to the future of football."
The fourth European away trip of the season in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 takes the Werkself to the Greek capital. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday seven in the UCL league phase. The match at the Karaiskakis Stadium is on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET). We'll be taking you on a trip to Athens and reporting on the Werkself close-up...
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have agreed a loan deal with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach for Argentinian striker Alejo Sarco. The 20-year-old joins Mönchengladbach with immediate effect for the rest of the season.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 in the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign. Tonight, 20 January (kick-off: 22:00 local time/21:00 CET), Bayer 04 will not only face a familiar face in Panagiotis Retsos, but also an experienced and successful team in their Greek top-flight opponents. The Olympiacos midfield and forward line in particular are peppered with seasoned veterans from top European clubs - but even they will first have to find solutions against the Werkself defence that has recently performed with aplomb in the UCL. The matchday news.
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The Werkself are away to Greek double winners Olympiacos on matchday 7 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about anticipation for the game. Werkself player Ibrahim Maza also gave an insight into dealing with the recent setbacks.
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After their first win on matchday 6 in the UCL league phase, Olympiacos are still in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs in the UEFA Champions League. The 2024 UEFA Conference League winners will be looking to go one better in their home match against Bayer 04 this Tuesday, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), but their stop scorer is unavailable. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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