Slovenian football federation head Aleksander Ceferin was elected on Wednesday new president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
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In his acceptance speech Ceferin said: “It’s a great honour but, at the same time, great responsibility”. “I am not a showman, I have no ego issues and I am not a man of unrealistic promises”, said Ceferin after the poll amongst Europe’s 55 national football associations. “My small and lovely Slovenia is very proud of it, and I hope that one day you will also be proud of me”.
Ceferin’s immediate challenge is to heal the rifts in European soccer created by the secret deal to increase guaranteed Champions League places for clubs from the powerful leagues of England, Spain, Germany, and Italy.
Aleksander Čeferin has been elected as UEFA’s seventh President at the European body’s Extraordinary Congress in Athens.
Ceferin takes over from French ex-international midfielder Michel Platini, who resigned after being banned from all football-related activity past year.
“Michael van Praag had seven years the chance to give a lot of reform ideas in his work in the executive committee and he did not”.
There was applause from UEFA delegates but no standing ovation after Platini completed his address by declaring: “Friends of football, farewell”. “I don’t want to live in an empire of fear where every day we wake and see another negativity surfacing”.
The session was somewhat controversially opened by Platini, who had been granted special permission by FIFA’s ethics committee to bid farewell to the organisation he has run since 2007.
The 48-year-old lawyer replaces former president Michel Platini, who resigned from the role last year after receiving an eight-year ban from all football activity for breaching rules over a £1.3m payment from former FIFA president Sepp Blatter. And I continue my legal fight…. That’s exactly how it is, we have the same goal, look at our programmes, we want a better UEFA.
“It’s very emotional for me to be here but I’m also delighted to be here because this will be my last speech to a UEFA Congress”, Platini began.
Responding to those who have suggested he only got the job because of back-room deals and friends in high places like new Federation Internationale de Football Association president Gianni Infantino, Ceferin said: “I was never behind the scenes”.
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“Together we have done so much to keep that flame alive”.
