EFC reshuffles leadership in Prague as Verhaeghe becomes vice-chair and board signs off priority workstreams

European Football Clubs (EFC) have promoted Club Brugge president Bart Verhaeghe to vice-chairman and approved a set of board-level decisions designed to accelerate membership growth and deepen its influence across UEFA and FIFA discussions.The appointments and work programme were agreed at an EFC board meeting in Prague, where chairman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi also hosted representatives from Czech football’s federation, league and member clubs as the organisation seeks to broaden engagement beyond the biggest markets.Verhaeghe, 61, will also take over as vice-chair for Subdivision 2, the bloc of clubs from associations ranked seventh to 15th in UEFA’s country coefficients, replacing former Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell.“I am deeply honoured by both these appointments,” Verhaeghe said in a statement released by Club Brugge. “It is recognition of the professional work carried out by everyone at the club and provides fresh motivation to continue addressing the challenges in European football together.”EFC said Lawwell will remain involved after stepping aside from the vice-chair position, with the board approving his appointment as an independent board member following his decision to leave his role at Celtic at the end of 2025.The move keeps an experienced governance figure inside the organisation while allowing EFC to refresh leadership representation across its subdivision model, which is designed to balance the priorities of elite clubs with those from mid-tier and emerging leagues.Beyond personnel, EFC’s Prague meeting was used to sign off “key initiatives” across a cluster of strategic areas, including membership growth and engagement, innovation, and its work on UC3 and partnerships with UEFA and FIFA.UC3 is the joint venture platform through which UEFA and EFC collaborate on commercial and rights-related initiatives tied to European club competitions, and the Prague agenda underlined the clubs body’s intent to play a more active role in new revenue streams and technology-led programmes.EFC also discussed collaboration with confederations and national teams on two longstanding pressure points in the global football economy: player release obligations and the Laws of the Game.Those topics sit at the centre of the club-versus-international calendar debate, with clubs increasingly focused on workload, injury risk and compensation mechanisms, while federations and confederations protect access to players for international windows and tournament cycles.The Prague session included engagement with local stakeholders, with Al-Khelaïfi welcoming Czech FA president David Trunda, Czech league executive director Tomáš Bárta and representatives from Czech member clubs.EFC has expanded rapidly in recent years and now represents more than 800 clubs across UEFA’s 55 associations, positioning itself as the primary collective voice for the European club game as governance, financial regulation and competition formats remain under scrutiny.For Club Brugge, Verhaeghe’s elevation strengthens Belgium’s visibility inside EFC’s leadership tier and gives the club a higher-profile seat at the table as European football navigates contentious debates around competition revenue distribution, regulatory enforcement and the international match calendar.