Bohemians chief Daniel Lambert has described the European Clubs Association as similar to the United Nations - a large grouping but with only a handful making the big decisions.
That’s why he reckons it’s a no-brainer for other League of Ireland clubs to join the Dalymount Park side in the newly established Union of European Clubs.
Lambert was the one Irish official at yesterday’s launch in Brussels, which featured representatives from clubs across the continent.
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Among them were officials from Premier League sides including Aston Villa and Brighton, as well as La Liga and Bundesliga outfits.
Set up to counter the European Clubs Association, but with its door wide open to members of the ECA, it aims to represent clubs from around Europe that feel their voices aren’t being heard in the corridors of power.
“It was interesting when you listened today that this hasn’t happened before,” Lambert told Mirror online.
“The ECA is very much like the UN, there are lots of people around the table but, the same as the UN, it's like a handful have a veto. Very few clubs are making the decisions.
“As the president of La Liga put it, the ECA is open if you want tea or coffee or a Coca Cola, but not if you want to make a decision.”
The ECA, headed by Paris St Germain CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi, conducts negotiations with UEFA around the organisation of competitions.
With the Champions League increasingly looking like a closed shop, and the concept of a European Super League refusing to go away, clubs outside the elite have banded together.
“Today is about recognising that there are around 1,500 professional clubs that can enter UEFA competition,” continued Lambert, who will now encourage other Irish clubs from the Premier and First Divisions to sign up to the UEC, which plans to hold its first general assembly in November.
“These clubs, their needs, concerns and issues, they have no forum to have them addressed.
“There has been a consolidation of power among a few clubs.
“To put it in an Irish perspective, no Irish club had any input into the formation of the (Europa) Conference League.”
Among the aims of the UEC is a fairer distribution of the massive revenues generated by UEFA.
Last year Shamrock Rovers, associated members of the ECA, brought in almost €4m in prize money thanks to their run to the Europa Conference League group stages.
And while the pathway to group stage football has been opened up by the development of a third competition, the money available remains a fraction of what is on offer at the top table.
The Conference League, as Lambert pointed out, can also be damaging to the competitiveness of leagues in smaller European nations.
“On the face of it, it’s a great thing,” he said. “But analyse it closer and the other three Irish clubs that qualify have no chance of getting into the group stages.
“And then the scale of finances on offer when you get to the group stages is colossal compared to the League of Ireland.
“So while I think the Conference league overall is a good idea, it potentially is hugely damaging if someone qualifies for the group stages a few years in a row.
“The impact of that on the competitiveness of a league is enormous.”
The UEC issued a statement after yesterday’s launch, in which it described the newly formed body as “a much-needed initiative to provide a voice to at least 92 percent of professional football clubs who today go unheard.
“Europe has more than 1,500 professional football clubs, the vast majority have no international platform nor any representation with key institutions such as UEFA or the European Union.”
It added: “By giving a voice to the true heart of European football the UEC aims to create a fairer and more sustainable football ecosystem.”
Its founder Dennis Gudasic is executive director of Lokomotiva FC in Zagreb, Croatia, and he said: “It is crucial that small and medium sized clubs gain a voice.
“Over the past decades football has become increasingly a game of the elite, this trend needs to be reversed or the beautiful game will suffer irreparable harm.”
Yesterday’s event was attended either in-person or online by officials from 103 professional outfits, EU representatives and other football stakeholders.
Former Bohs boss and ex-Ireland international Gareth Farrelly, now a lawyer, helped establish the UEC and he too made a presentation at yesterday’s launch.
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish and La Liga president Javier Tebas also spoke
Tebas said: “The new Union of European Clubs can help solve an important problem in football governance by truly representing clubs.”
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