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."
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Swiss goalkeeper Jonas Omlin from Borussia Mönchengladbach. The 32-year-old joins the Werkself from the Lower Rhine Bundesliga club on loan to the end of the current season. This is the reaction of Bayer 04 to the injury to first choice keeper Mark Flekken, who faces a long spell on the sidelines.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Jonas Omlin. Bayer 04 have signed the 32-year-old goalkeeper on loan from Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach until the end of the season. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes described the Swiss shot stopper, signed by the Werkself in reaction to the long-term absence of first choice keeper Mark Flekken, as an "internationally experienced keeper." Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the new signing, who will wear the number 18 jersey.
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Lucas Vázquez was the hero in Saturday's 1-0 home win against Werder Bremen, when the Spaniard scored his first Bundesliga goal to secure an important victory for Leverkusen. The 34-year-old right-sided recently met up with the Werkself magazine for an interview in the Düsseldorf restaurant Casa Galicia after the first few months of settling in to his new home in Germany. Over tapas, the five-time Champions League winner, who left Real Madrid in the summer after 18 years to continue his career at Bayer 04, spoke about his career to date, the new challenge in Leverkusen and the importance of family - and he paid a big compliment to the fans of his new club.
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