Slovenian Aleksander Ceferin has been elected the new president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and will hold office until 2019. The 48-year-old emerged victorious in the first round of voting at UEFA’s congress in Athens, picking up 42 votes to the 13 collected by 68-year-old Dutchman Michael van Praag. Aleksander Ceferin will succeed Frenchman Michel Platini, 61, who was suspended by FIFA’s ethics commission in 2015.
“I’m not a dreamer, I’m a pragmatist,” said Ceferin in Athens. “Our job is to protect this wonderful game. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to take on this role. It’s a big responsibility.” The new UEFA chief declared that he is “no showman”, saying “I’m now in a position to oversee projects that will bring UEFA onto a higher level.”
Ceferin spoke of “the winds of change” blowing across European football. The union stands “at the dawning of a new era. It’s now all about stability – and the time for the privileged few has come to an end. I’m a team player, and I work with a lot of passion.” At the top of his agenda are “good governance and transparency, because football has to come first.”
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Slovenian Aleksander Ceferin has been elected the new president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and will hold office until 2019. The 48-year-old emerged victorious in the first round of voting at UEFA’s congress in Athens, picking up 42 votes to the 13 collected by 68-year-old Dutchman Michael van Praag. Aleksander Ceferin will succeed Frenchman Michel Platini, 61, who was suspended by FIFA’s ethics commission in 2015.
“I’m not a dreamer, I’m a pragmatist,” said Ceferin in Athens. “Our job is to protect this wonderful game. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to take on this role. It’s a big responsibility.” The new UEFA chief declared that he is “no showman”, saying “I’m now in a position to oversee projects that will bring UEFA onto a higher level.”
Ceferin spoke of “the winds of change” blowing across European football. The union stands “at the dawning of a new era. It’s now all about stability – and the time for the privileged few has come to an end. I’m a team player, and I work with a lot of passion.” At the top of his agenda are “good governance and transparency, because football has to come first.”