Barcelona president Joan Laporta will make an important trip to Copenhagen later this month as the club strengthens EU football ties. Laporta, in another development of Barcelona’s relationship with EFC after years of distance following the Super League affair, will attend the general assembly of the Football Clubs of Europe (EFC) which will take place on September 29 and 30.
The EFC (previously the European Club Association, or ECA) represents approximately 850 clubs from 55 countries and has a significant contribution to make to discussions in relation to UEFA and European club football. Barcelona’s official return to the organisation took place in February 2026 after being forced to stay away due to the failed European Super League project for almost five years.
Laporta had already started to renew the relationship with the organisation by attending a meeting of EFC as a guest last year in Rome. It was seen as a step towards compromise, with the EFC board later unanimously voting to allow the club back into Goodison. The new deal at least is a sign of Barcelona’s desire to stay ahead enough in the pursuit of relevance with other leading clubs shaping European football.
Barcelona have always been an important presence in the organisation. Cataluña’s club were among the early members of ECA, launched in 2008 as a successor to the G-14 group of elite European clubs. Laporta, its first vice-president, also took a leading role in the association’s executive alongside former Barça presidents Sandro Rosell and Jesús Bartomeu.
The UEFA Football for Peace president, Aleksander Ceferin, will also be present for the assembly this year, which makes it an even more pivotal event. However, Barcelona’s recent appointment as host of the final of the UEFA Champions League 2029 at the Espanyol Camp Nou makes Laporta’s presence at the event even more relevant.
Prior to his trip to Denmark, Laporta will go the day before to Laren, Netherlands, for the funeral of former Barcelona manager and club legend, Ronald Koeman, who died at the age of 67 on September 16. He’ll be accompanied by vice-president Rafa Yuste, and other prominent locals who have close relations with Barcelona will attend, including Pep Guardiola, Jose Mari Bakero, Txiki Begiristain and journalist Lluis Canut, who will all be there to show support for Koeman and his family.
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