Pedro Proenza appointed president of the European Leagues Association

Pedro Proença, president of the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP), has been appointed chairman of the European Leagues Association, governed by an executive committee, for two years, the LPFP announced this Monday.

“Pedro Proença has been appointed president of the Association of European Leagues (EL), an organization of 40 professional leagues representing more than a thousand clubs from 34 European countries,” the LPFP said in a statement.

According to the body responsible for the national professional football competition, the appointment of the former international referee, 53, will be confirmed at the next EL General Assembly, scheduled for November 30.

“After a period of deliberate reflection, I informed the members of the “board of directors” of my willingness to accept the invitation addressed to me to assume the position of President of EL, a decision made after receiving the absolutely necessary assurance that it was compatible with the exercise of the position of President of LPSP,” Proenza stated, as quoted in the same statement.

The director also stressed that this appointment “is unequivocal proof of the international recognition of the work done by clubs and professional football over the past few years, which has allowed LPFP to join the EL ‘Board of Directors’ and to occupy a suitable position for the presidency.”

The LPFP highlights Proenza’s main tasks at EL, such as stabilizing the organization, implementing the legislative review process and defining the election profile for the next president in 2025, as well as placing the organization’s agenda at the top of its priorities.

LPSP leader since July 2015, Proença assured that this position will not prevent him from completing his third consecutive term.

“I will not allow the presidency of EL to force me to retreat even a millimeter from the commitments that I made in June of this year to the clubs representing professional football and who unanimously signed the electoral program with which I presented myself in the elections. a new four-year mandate,” emphasized the leader, who was re-elected for a third and final term on June 1.

Proenza also vowed to continue his “uncompromising defense of the sustainability and competitiveness of professional football” – a goal he set when he became leader of the national body.

EL was founded in Nyon, Switzerland on June 6, 2005, when it was founded by 14 leagues from European countries.

Swede Lars-Christer Olsson chaired the Europa Leagues until March 26, 2021, when 13 members were elected to the organization’s board, including Proença.