Slovenia’s Aleksander Ceferin has been elected as UEFA’s seventh president at an extraordinary congress in Athens.
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The 48-year-old Ceferin won easily in Wednesday’s UEFA presidential election, taking 42 of the 55 votes.
Platini was banished along with Blatter over a payment of two million Swiss francs ($2.08 million) made to the Frenchman by Federation Internationale de Football Association with Blatter’s approval in 2011 for work done a decade earlier.
Numerous smaller nations involved in Uefa backed Ceferin after plans emerged for changes to the flagship Champions League competition whih would allow more established clubs from bigger countries to gain more places.
Much of that support came from smaller European countries who feel football power increasingly concentrated in the hands of big clubs in England, Spain, Germany and Italy.
“The most important thing is to give that leadership back to UEFA that clearly we have not had since Michel Platini had to step down a year ago”, UEFA vice president David Gill said.
“It’s not because you repeat again and again, loud and clear “I am a leader” that you are a leader”.
He praised interim leader Angel Maria Villar and acting general secretary Theodore Theodoridis for holding UEFA together during the past year, saying: “Without you and your staff UEFA could have been in big danger today but it is not so we owe you, big time”.
Slovenian Ceferin said his organisation should show the clubs “we are the ones who are the governing body”.
“You can say that I am young and experienced but I honestly think it disrespectful for all small and medium-sized federations who, 365 days a year, have to do more with less”.
Having considered the credentials of both Ceferin and Michael van Praag, Stewart Regan, the Chief Executive of the Scottish FA, outlined the reasons behind the decision to declare support to the current president of the Slovenian FA.
But Van Praag is 68 and, while he is untainted by football’s various corruption scandals, he is not the fresh thinker many want. However, the CAS did reduce his ban to four years. “It’s a great honour but at the same time great responsibility”, Ceferin said on stage following his victory.
In May, the NZS opened its new national football center – replete with three pitches and a multipurpose sports training facility – near the city of Kranj, 30 kilometers north of the capital Ljubljana.
Despite Platini’s ban, FIFA’s ethics committee said an exception had been made for the event as a “gesture of humanity”.
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“I have a clear conscience, I have not made mistakes and will continue my fight in court”. I respect that, I want to thank the countries that supported me until the end, but I call on them to back Aleksander.
