Inventing a ‘European Space of Discussions’: The UEFA-EBU Relationship, c.1950s–1970s

Abstract

On 29 May 1968, Manchester United beat Benfica Lisbon in a memorable final, winning the European Champions Clubs’ Cup (ECCC), a competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Millions of European citizens were also able to watch the game on their television sets, the live broadcast reaching almost twenty countries through the Eurovision network created by European Broadcasting Union (EBU). How did UEFA and EBU manage to reach an agreement to show this game? And what does this tell us about both other forms of European unity and how European international organisations cooperate with each other? This chapter investigates such questions. Based on largely unexplored materials from UEFA’s archives and on a review of the EBU’s official bulletin, the chapter describes the building of a ‘European space of discussion’.