Rome (AFP) – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin was handed a new four-year term on Thursday and promised a bright future despite the “complex challenges” ahead for European football’s governing body.
The 51-year-old Slovenian lawyer was the only candidate going forward for election at the UEFA Congress in Rome and was voted in by acclamation.
His election was in contrast to the situation when he took over two and a half years ago, with football in turmoil amid a corruption scandal that toppled his predecessor Michel Platini.
Ceferin told UEFA’s 55 member associations that “with unity restored” he was taking over with “fewer doubts and less scepticism than back then”.
“When I see the unity of European football it makes me happy, when you see the financial numbers, you feel proud and confident that the future is bright,” said Ceferin, revealing figures for the highest revenue in UEFA’s history with an annual income of 5.7 billion euros ($6.4 billion).
“We will be giving more money back to our sport than any other sports federation in the world.”
Having previously been largely charged with putting in place measures voted for under the previous regime of Platini and current FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Ceferin can now hope to really make his mark and implement his own changes.
“We are going to have to think ahead and undertake some major developments,” he added.
On top of his agenda for now is a battle with Infantino, who as FIFA president has been promoting a new, expanded Club World Cup and global Nations League. Ceferin is opposed to the projects.
“By telling FIFA that we disagree with their current proposals on the Global Nations League and the Club World Cup, we show them respect and we show respect to football, the game we love and the game we must protect,” he said.
“We sincerely hope that FIFA will also show us respect by listening to our views.”
Ceferin promised to work closely with world football’s governing body, and is also hoping to bring the 2030 World Cup back to Europe.
“With our unity restored, we will be a source of constructive ideas for FIFA, rather than one of opposition. And we expect the same attitude from FIFA,” he said.
– ‘Lost time’ –
Infantino was present in Rome and also extended an olive branch to his European counterpart.
“We must be innovative. We must continue to develop. It can only be done if we work together, if we discuss, if we debate,” Infantino said.
“Let’s try to find what we have to do together to make up for lost time.”
Ceferin promised an overhaul of club competitions and confirmed there would be no breakaway Super League while he was in charge.
“We will work hand-in-hand with our partner, the European Club Association, to design the club competitions of the future,” Ceferin said.
“Club competitions that are in keeping with the times, full of excitement and intensity and open, which will bring a new dimension to European football.”
Ceferin said UEFA would “rigorously defend” their members’ concerns over the international calendar, backed by Andrea Agnelli, president of Italian champions Juventus and the ECA, with whom UEFA signed an agreement on Wednesday.
Ceferin also confirmed he would adapt the financial fair play rules over the next four years to establish “a new European balance in which everyone can find their rightful place”.
“Are Manchester City and PSG too big to be sanctioned? My answer is no,” said Ceferin. “Any club that violates any regulations will be sanctioned. Not by me, but by the individual bodies.”
He also defended his record since taking over with his most notable achievement being the introduction of term limits for UEFA presidents, to a maximum of three four-year stints.
“Limited terms of office, the publication of salaries, the creation of a Compensation Committee and the inclusion of independent members in a reinforced Governance and Compliance Committee are just a few of the common-sense reforms we have introduced,” he said.
“This is only the start. We will be doing more in this area because there remain weaknesses in our system.”
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