In an unprecedented joint move, thirteen Estonian football clubs have submitted a formal demand to the Estonian Football Association (EJL) board, calling for an extraordinary general congress to challenge UEFA’s continued funding of Russian clubs and to press for Ukraine’s fair treatment.
A direct challenge to UEFA’s status quo
The initiative seeks three decisive measures: halting all solidarity payments to Russian clubs, ensuring payments reach Ukrainian clubs, and expelling the Russian Football Union from UEFA. According to Paide Linnameeskond president Veiko Veskimäe, who emerged as the public voice of the coalition, the matter goes beyond financial transactions.
“UEFA continues to finance Russian clubs in the fourth year of Russia’s aggression, while support to several Ukrainian clubs is being blocked – this is immoral and unjust. For us, this is a fundamental value question,” Veskimäe argued in a statement circulated via Taavi Linnamäe’s email.
His criticism pointedly included the EJL president, Aivar Pohlak, a member of UEFA’s Executive Committee, whose public statements and reluctance to act were described as “very strange” and out of step with the moral gravity of the issue.
Baltic Football News recently published an op-ed on this topic.
The clubs’ demand draws a sharp ethical line: in their framing, football cannot separate itself from the geopolitical violence that has left Ukraine under constant attack while Russia’s clubs – some tied to sanctioned individuals or the country’s political elite – continue to benefit from UEFA funds.
“At a time when Russia continues its full-scale war in Ukraine, their drones fly in Poland and fighter jets provoke in Estonian airspace, millions of euros from our shared football pot are directed to Russian clubs. This is unacceptable,” Veskimäe stressed, invoking football’s foundational values: fair play, equality, solidarity.
Who is behind the call and what comes next?
The call for an extraordinary general congress was formally supported by the following clubs:
Paide Linnameeskond, FCI Levadia, Harju JK, FC Infonet, Tallinna Kalev, Viljandi Tulevik, JK Welco, FC Santos, Viimsi JK, Martin Reimi Jalgpallikool, Järvamaa JK, Harju JK Laagri, and FC Ravens Futsal.
Statutory provisions mean that the EJL board is obliged to convene such a congress if at least one tenth of members demand it. With 110 members registered, the coalition of 13 comfortably meets the threshold.
EJL’s statutes stipulate that the extraordinary congress must be convened within three months of receiving the demand, with members notified at least 30 days prior to the meeting. According to Eva Nõmme, head of the EJL’s Public and Cooperation Relations Department, the congress will be valid only if more than two-thirds of members are present or represented.
This leaves a crucial window for lobbying and coalition-building – both within Estonia and toward UEFA. The clubs insist that the EJL cannot hide behind procedure, but must use its voice to pressure UEFA.
UEFA’s hypocrisy
The backdrop is riddled with contradictions. On February 28, 2022, UEFA and FIFA suspended Russian clubs and the Russian national team from international competition, while also suspending the Russian Football Union’s membership. Yet financial flows have persisted:
- 2022/23 season: €3.305 million to Russian clubs
- 2023/24 season: €3.381 million
- 2024/25 season (planned): €4.224 million
Meanwhile, Ukrainian clubs have faced blocked or delayed solidarity payments, with Swiss banks citing “war zone” risks. Clubs including Chornomorets, Metalurh, and Metalist 1925 have filed formal complaints to UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
What is at stake, then, is not only money but football’s credibility. Estonian clubs frame the extraordinary congress as a chance to reclaim the sport’s ethical ground – to insist that the values UEFA celebrates in rhetoric be enforced in practice.
As Veskimäe put it: “Now is the right time to convene the congress and take a strong step together for Ukraine and for all our interests in UEFA.”
Source: https://sport.delfi.ee/artikkel/120406790/eesti-klubid-kutsusid-kokku-jalgpalliliidu-erakorralise-uldkogu-et-algatada-uefa-maksete-peatamine-vene-klubidele
