Soccer-Juventus boss Agnelli elected as head of European Club Association

GENEVA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Juventus (Milan: JUVE.MI - news) boss Andrea Agnelli has been appointed as the new head of the powerful European Club Association (ECA (Paris: FR0010099515 - news) ), the organisation said on Twitter (Frankfurt: A1W6XZ - news) on Tuesday.

The ECA, whose 200-plus members include all of the continent's biggest and richest football clubs, said that both Agnelli and Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis had been chosen as its representatives on the executive committee of European soccer body UEFA.

Agnelli will replace former West Germany international Karl-Heinz Rummenigge who had been chairman since the ECA's foundation in 2008 and had decided to step aside.

Last year, the ECA supported controversial changes to the Champions League which made fewer places available in the lucrative group stage for clubs from the smaller European leagues.

On Monday, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin told the ECA that the rich-poor divide was the biggest issue facing European football. (Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Clare Fallon)