Neil Doncaster elected to Board of European Leagues

The SPFL has announced that its Group Chief Executive Neil Doncaster has been elected to the Board of the European Leagues.

Neil and the Belgian Pro League’s Chief Executive Lorin Parys were elected at today’s general meeting of the European Leagues in Riga, following the resignation of the Israeli and Latvian league directors from the European Leagues board. The Dutch Eredivisie’s Chief Executive Jan de Jong was also appointed to the board, following the resignation of the Spanish La Liga president Javier Tebas.

Scotland was one of the 14 original founder members of the European Leagues in 2005 and the Swiss-headquartered body now comprises 40 professional football leagues, representing more than 1,000 clubs across Europe.

Neil said: “The European Leagues is the representative body for leagues across the continent. It is a key part of the fabric of European football and represents the vast majority of Europe’s professional clubs.

“Having served a previous three-year term on the board from 2013 to 2016, I know how important it is to have a strong voice at the table and it’s a great honour to have been elected by the SPFL’s fellow leagues.

“I’m looking forward to ensuring Scotland’s interests are well-served on the board of the European Leagues.”

Murdoch MacLennan, SPFL chairman, said: “It is great news for the SPFL to have Neil back on the board of the European Leagues, at what is a crucial time for Scottish and European football. It is an accolade not just for Neil, but for the whole of the SPFL.

“With Peter Lawwell having been appointed as the vice chairman of the European Clubs Association earlier this year, Scotland is very well represented at the top table of European football.”

The countries represented on the European Leagues board are: Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland.