Jersey’s European football plea goes into extra time

Friday 29 September 2017

The final whistle on Jersey’s desire to play European football at the very highest level – as an ‘independent nation’ – hasn’t yet been blown.

Back in September 2016 the Executive Committee of the Union of European Football Associations – UEFA – turned down a request from the Jersey Football Association to allow them to play in the top flight saying the island didn’t meet its criteria.

UEFA’s Executive Committee argues only ‘independent nations’ are eligible. But the JFA says that’s not the case arguing Gibraltar was admitted to the Union in 2013. There are also anomalies.

With UEFA refusing to budge the JFA took its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. Commenting at the time of the hearing back in June JFA chair Phil Austin “We’re very happy with the way our legal team presented our case and we came out feeling good about the day, but without any knowledge or insight as to what the outcome may be. I would say that this is balanced on a knife edge. It’s very, very finely balanced."

The court has now given its ruling. For the JFA it’s a ‘game of two halves’.

It's ruled Jersey’s request should have been heard by UEFA’s Congress – not its Executive Committee, and says Jersey should get the chance to put its case. But, the court has stopped short of fully supporting the JFA. It had asked the Court to order UEFA to “take all necessary measures to admit the JFA as a full member of UEFA without delay”.

UEFA describes its Congress as the ‘parliament of European football’. It’s made up of the presidents and general secretaries of its 55 member associations, and discusses and votes on measures and proposals, as well as electing UEFA’s senior officials.

An Ordinary Congress takes place each year, although a secondary Ordinary Congress may be called by the UEFA Executive Committee to deal with financial matters and/or matters of particular significance. An Extraordinary Congress may be called by the UEFA Executive Committee, or at the written request of one-fifth or more of the UEFA member associations.

The JFA believes the island has a better chance of being admitted to UEFA if it can put its case to the member associations. The Court believes the JFA should be given the opportunity, but whilst it notes the Congress does have discretionary powers to admit new members, it says ‘on the basis of the evidence provided [it believes the] JFA does not fulfil the requirements of Article 5(1) of the UEFA Statutes to be admitted as a member of UEFA’. It states: ‘membership of UEFA is open to national football associations situated in the continent of Europe, based in a country which is recognised by the United Nations as an independent state, and which are responsible for the organisation and implementation of football-related matters in the territory of their country’.