Written by: euronews with ap
Re-election of Aleksander Ceferin as UEFA President until 2027
Slovenian Aleksander Ceferin was re-elected by acclamation as president of the European Football Association (UEFA) for a third term until 2027, during the General Assembly on Wednesday in Lisbon.
The 55-year-old Cheferin headed the continental organization in 2016 after French Michel Platini was suspended due to corruption scandals, and was re-elected again in 2019.
“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your unanimous support. This means a lot to me. It is a great honor, but above all a great responsibility towards you and towards football,” Ceferin said after his election to the member associations.
When he arrived in 2016 as president of the continental body after Platini fell under the pressure of scandals, then was re-elected in 2019, the Slovenian lawyer did not have charisma and was distinguished by his reservation, except that he knew how to impose himself and did not hesitate to oppose his counterpart in the International Federation (FIFA) Swiss- Italy’s Gianni Infantino in particular over the biennial World Cup project, which has recently been abandoned.
Cheferin also proved his ability to weather the storm caused by many major European clubs in 2021, by launching the idea of the European Super League, which sparked a massive protest by the fans of these clubs and some continental heads of state and governments.
Despite putting out the flames of this project, three clubs (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Spain, and Juventus, Italy) continue to resist, as they applied before the Court of Justice of the European Union to denounce UEFA’s abuse of excessive force emanating from its authority.
A decision is expected in the coming weeks, but in mid-December the EUC’s first positive opinion, whose conclusions judges frequently follow, was issued by the Advocate General of the Union of European Courts.
And the company, “A22 Sports Management”, which promotes the Super League, presented a new version of its project in early February, which includes a more “open” competition, including several grades, “which includes 60 to 80 teams.”
barbs
Shortly before his re-election, Ceferin cracked down on the Super League “Fortunately, shame didn’t kill anyone. In a few months, the Super League turned into a legend of Lily and the Wolf. The Wolf disguises itself as a grandmother to eat you better. But no one is fooled, Because they are two clashing visions of the world, cynicism against morality, selfishness against solidarity, greed against participation, the race for profit against the race for championships.
And after a state of calm prevailed with Infantino, who was also re-elected by acclamation weeks ago at the helm of FIFA, Cheferin must be free from restrictions in order to proceed with two major projects, starting with reforming the Fair Financial Play Act by introducing a kind of ceiling on wages, transfer fees and commissions for the agent. And secondly, the new version of the European Champions League competition, which will witness an increase in the number of participating teams from 32 to 36 in the 2024-2025 season, with the organization of a first stage in the form of a mini-tournament.
Television rights have already been awarded for a record amount of €15 billion over three years (2024-2027).
Ceferin also recently raised the possibility of revising the laws relating to multiple club ownership, which prohibit the ownership of multiple clubs competing in the same competition.
