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VIDEO SHOWS: EUROPEAN CLUB ASSOCIATION PRESS CONFERENCE RESENDING WITH FULL SHOTLIST AND SCRIPT  SHOWS: ROME, ITALY (OCTOBER 9, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. DELEGATES WALK INTO PRESS CONFERENCE 2. NEW EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CLUBS (EFC) LOGO 3. GENERAL ASSEMBLY SIGN 4. PRESS CONFERENCE 5. NASSER AL-KHELAIFI, EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CLUBS (EFC) CHAIRMAN, TALKING 6. DELEGATES ON STAGE 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NASSER AL-KHELAIFI, EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CLUBS (EFC) CHAIRMAN, TALKING ABOUT BARCELONA REJOINING THE EFC, SAYING:     "So this is the nation, we are one family, all of us. We want everybody to come back, the truth. Everybody, when you ask me about Real Madrid, also, so I didn't skip from Real Madrid, but the truth, we want all of them to come back. This is their family, their home. So we don't need any other competition. We have the best club competition today (Champions League) and with the new format, even better. So that's what we want, and that's hopefully what they, at least Barcelona, want today. And let's see what can happen next." 8. DELEGATES ON STAGE 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NASSER AL-KHELAIFI, EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CLUBS (EFC) CHAIRMAN, TALKING ABOUT THE REBRANDING, SAYING:     "It's more than just changing the name, the brand. It is about football. You know, European football clubs today, the football is in the middle of our name, middle of our logo. That's what we love, what we do every day and we are passionate about football. This is actually a focus on football and gives the vision we have to focus on the sport itself." 10. PRESS 11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAN-CHRISTIAN DREESEN, EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CLUBS (EFC) VICE-CHAIR, TALKING ABOUT CLUBS PLAYING LEAGUE MATCHES ABROAD, SAYING:     "Well, I do have a clear idea where to play our obliged league matches and this is at the home where we do have our fundament. Because we play for the fans, we play for the fans abroad, but we play also for the fans at home, and so I think it's a good idea to play the league matches at home and not abroad. I know that for UEFA this was a difficult situation, and so for them it's not easy, because UEFA also wants to protect the club competitions, and it can't be in our interest that we do our league matches abroad. And yes, we want to expand, but we can expand with this big new international club competition, Club World Cup, or with the UEFA club competitions and as well with our friendlies. I think this should be our idea and this is what we are aiming for." 12. DELEGATES ON STAGE 13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NASSER AL-KHELAIFI, EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CLUBS (EFC) CHAIRMAN, TALKING ABOUT PLAYER WORKLOAD, SAYING:     "If you ask the players, most of the players, do you want to play one match every week or two matches every week? They will say two matches every week. Can they do it? It's a different story, different question, right? They don't want to train, trust me. The fans want to watch also them playing. But of course, everything we try to develop, everything we try to improve, calendar, one of them, yes, we need to look at the calendar. There is something that needs to improve in the calendar definitely. Yes, we need to protect the players, we need to protect the players, the clubs, the leagues, the national teams. So we all, we have the same vision, the same idea actually with everyone." 14. PRESS CONFERENCE 15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NASSER AL-KHELAIFI, EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CLUBS (EFC) CHAIRMAN, TALKING ABOUT PLAYING INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENTS IN THE EUROPEAN WINTER, SAYING:     "As I said we shouldn't be scared of changes, but what the change Is, is it for better? So we need to analyze and study everything, and then we should look at it, definitely. But it's a very difficult position today, you say this is better or the other option is better. So I think we should really study all the options that we have. There's something that needs to change, yes, definitely, you know. But I mean, as clubs, as national teams, as confederations, with all the respect to everybody, that we sit at the table and look at it, the players, coaches. You know, earlier I said the coaches, the players, they are the ones on the pitch. They are the ones working every day. So we need to have also their opinion." 16. EFC LOGO 17. END OF PRESS CONFERENCE 18. AL-KHELAIFI WITH OTHER DELEGATES STORY: Nasser Al-Khelaifi, chairman of the rebranded European Football Clubs (EFC), said on Thursday (October 9) that he is hopeful Barcelona will rejoin the organisation.     Speaking in Rome at the the annual General Assembly of the European Club Association (ECA), now rebranded as the European Football Clubs, Al-Khelaifi said he wanted all the clubs who left the ECA when they looked into forming a European Super League four years ago to rejoin.     "We want all of them to come back. This is their family, their home. So we don't need any other competition," he said.     "We have the best club competition today (Champions League) and with the new format, even better. So that's what we want, and that's hopefully what they, at least Barcelona, want today. And let's see what can happen next."     Following the announcement of the rebranding of the organisation, Al-Khelaifi explained that it was designed to put the game centre stage.     "It's more than just changing the name, the brand. It is about football. You know, European football clubs today, the football is in the middle of our name, middle of our logo. That's what we love, what we do every day and we are passionate about football. This is actually a focus on football and gives the vision we have to focus on the sport itself."     UEFA's controversial decision to give the go ahead for domestic league fixtures to be played abroad, with Villarreal and Barcelona set for Miami in December and AC Milan and Como slated for Perth, Australia in February, was opposed by EFC vice-chair Jan-Christian Dreesen.     "I do have a clear idea where to play our obliged league matches and this is at the home where we do have our fundament. Because we play for the fans, we play for the fans abroad, but we play also for the fans at home, and so I think it's a good idea to play the league matches at home and not abroad," he said.      The newly expanded Club World Cup has brought even more scrutiny on the workload of players, something the EFC has been worried about for some time.     "If you ask the players, most of the players, do you want to play one match every week or two matches every week? They will say two matches every week. Can they do it? It's a different story, different question," Al-Khelaifi said.     "There is something that needs to improve in the calendar definitely. Yes, we need to protect the players, we need to protect the players, the clubs, the leagues, the national teams."     Asked if the EFC supported the idea of international tournaments being played in the European winter Al-Khelaifi said more research should go into the long-term effect on those involved. (Production: Gabriele Pileri/Roberto Mignucci/Oriana Boselli/Andy Ragg)

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VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM ATP SHANGHAI MASTERS QUARTER-FINAL ACTION – NOVAK DJOKOVIC WINS, HOLGER RUNE DEFEATED BY VALENTIN VACHEROT / SOUNDBITES OF DJOKOVIC AND VACHEROT COMPLETE SCRIPT TO FOLLOW SHOWS: SHANGHAI, CHINA (OCTOBER 9, 2025) (ATP MEDIA/ IMG – See restrictions) NOVAK DJOKOVIC (RED SHIRT) V ZIZOU BERGS HOLGER RUNE (PALE GREEN SHIRT) V VALENTIN VACHEROT SHOTLIST TO FOLLOW STORY: Fourth seed Novak Djokovic battled past a spirited Zizou Bergs 6-3 7-5 on Thursday (October 9) to reach the Shanghai Masters semi-finals for a 10th time, setting up a clash with surprise package and world number 204 Valentin Vacherot. In challenging conditions, Djokovic was made to work harder than the scoreline suggests by his Belgian opponent, who actually registered more winners than the four-times champion but was undone by unforced errors. In the opening set, Bergs showed remarkable resilience by saving five set points to frustrate Djokovic, before the Serbian finally closed it out with an unreturned serve. The second set proved even more gruelling, with both players serving well but treating the crowd to breathtaking rallies that left Djokovic hunched over his racquet on several occasions. The highlight came during one extraordinary rally where Djokovic gave Bergs five golden opportunities to seal the point with overhead shots and volleys at the net, only to somehow emerge victorious and bring the crowd to its feet. Djokovic eventually sealed victory on his third match point, advancing to face Vacherot in what promises to be an intriguing semi-final clash. "Amazing story for him. This tournament has taken out top players of the world… it's really impressive what he's doing," Djokovic said. Vacherot pulled off a huge upset, stunning 10th seed Holger Rune 2-6 7-6(4) 6-4 to become the second-lowest ranked player ever to reach an ATP Masters semi-final. The Monegasque qualifier's remarkable run will see him crack the top 100 next week after spending half of last year sidelined with injury, but even playing in Shanghai was a question mark when he arrived. Vacherot's stunning journey in Shanghai, which now includes wins over four seeds, looked doomed early on as Rune raced through a physically demanding opening set while the underdog felt his "lungs were screaming". But the tide turned dramatically in the second-set tiebreak when Vacherot produced a stunning backhand crosscourt winner to take a 5-4 lead. Rune crashed his next shot into the net and could only watch as Vacherot fired a forehand winner down the line on set point to level the match. Rune struggled physically in the decider, requiring the trainer twice to massage his leg. Vacherot then capitalised to complete a memorable victory in a contest lasting a minute shy of three hours. "It would mean a lot to play at least one of the guys of the 'Big Three' in my career," Vacherot said on playing Djokovic. Vacherot's cousin Arthur Rinderknech is also in the quarter-finals, with the Frenchman set to play Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)