Meanwhile, the European Club Association congratulated Ceferin – who runs his own law firm in his native Slovenia – on his appointment as successor to the disgraced Platini, who is appealing a four-year footballing ban issued by FIFA over an alleged improper payment received in 2011.
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The 48-year-old Slovanian was the frontrunner to replace banned former president Platini during the vote at an extraordinary congress in Athens.
“My family is very proud of me”, Ceferin said after his victory was confirmed.
Van Praag, 68, put a courageous face on after his crushing defeat.
Prior to the vote, Ceferin used his 15-minute pitch to delegates Athens to address concerns about his age and experience.
Before Ceferin beat UEFA vice president Michael van Praag 42-13 in the secret ballot, Platini was given special dispensation by FIFA’s ethics judge to bid farewell to European soccer leaders.
“You are going to continue this wonderful mission without me”, Platini told delegates.
The 48-year-old succeeds former France global Michel Platini, who resigned after being banned from all football activity last year.
The duo were handed eight-year bans, later reduced to six years on appeal to Federation Internationale de Football Association, then to four years in a further appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Disgraced former UEFA president Michel Platini insists his conscience is clear and vowed to continue fighting to clear his name following a suspension in regards to a disloyal payment from former Federation Internationale de Football Association chief Sepp Blatter.
“Thank you. Thank you for these nine years”.
The European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL), which represents the continent’s 24 domestic football leagues, called on Uefa to scrap the proposals, claiming national leagues will suffer.
Ceferin said his top priority was to address Champions League reforms agreed by UEFA’s executive committee last month. “I am not a showman and I’m not a man of unrealistic promises”, he explained.
Platini said he had fought as Uefa leader to preserve football from “all the excesses that its planetary success has engendered”.
“If you want to ask me if he supported me, I hope so”, Čeferin said, “But I don’t know anything about it”.
The Dutchman revealed he helped avert a breakaway during recent talks which ended with controversial changes made to the Champions League in favour of Europe’s biggest clubs.
After the result, Van Praag added: “Alex and myself have the same goal, look at our programmes”.
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. New FIFA rules say every confederation must have at least one female member of the council.
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“Today, democracy has spoken”.
