Following his departure as chairman of Celtic, Peter Lawwell this week stepped down as vice-chair of European Football Clubs (EFC).  The EFC, until October 2025 known as the European Club Association (ECA), is an 819 club member association, which creates a direct platform between clubs and associations like Uefa and Fifa.  Until its formation, clubs had to go through their national associations to get an item onto the agenda at Uefa or Fifa.

This marginalised many, including for many years, Celtic.  Acknowledging we needed a greater influence in the game, Lawwell was elected to the Executive Committee of the ECA in 2014.  Following the dramas that financial irresponsibility visited on Scottish football, through his leadership role at the ECA, Lawwell became the key architect of Uefa’s new Financial Sustainability Regulations (FSR), which came into effect four years ago.

Oversight and processes are now in place which did not exist when David Murray sold Oldco Rangers for £1 to a liquidation expert, with inevitable consequences.  Today. Murray and his successor Craig Whyte, would not get away with running a football club in the way they did back then.

Lawwell was also heavily involved in the 2024 redesign of the Champions...