Aleksander Ceferin re-elected as UEFA president

UEFA have confirmed that Aleksander Ceferin has been re-elected as president for a third term by acclamation after running unopposed.

The decision was made at the 47th UEFA Congress held in Lisbon, Portugal, where the 55 member associations unanimously re-elected Ceferin as president for a four-year term.

The Slovenian football administrator was first elected in 2016, defeating the Netherlands’ Michel van Praag to succeed France’s Michel Platini as president.

The 55-year-old then steered the confederation through the coronavirus pandemic after being re-elected in February 2019. 

He has also been at the forefront of the fight against the controversial European Super League that comprised 12 of Europe’s elite clubs.

All but three of those clubs, including Italian giants Juventus and Spanish heavyweights Barcelona and Real Madrid, have withdrawn from the project, leaving the idea supposedly dead in the water.

The organisers of the breakaway tournament have since proposed a new competition format, but two of the three clubs are currently being investigated for financial indiscretion.

Speaking ahead of his re-election, Ceferin said, “Protecting this game is our mission. We are elected, and we have a duty to set an example. We must never forget this. All of us.”

He then reiterated his stance about the Super League idea, saying: “European football is already global. And while we are reaping the benefits, we are also paying the price.

“There have been temptations, and even attempts, to create new models, but they conflict with the European model that we know so well and cherish so dearly.

“Our model is based on sporting merit. Where we come from, merit doesn’t have a price – it can’t be claimed or acquired. It can only be earned season by season, on and off the pitch. There’s no room for cartels on this continent.”

Ceferin’s re-election comes in the same fashion as sister organisation FIFA, whose president Gianni Infantino was also given the nod for another four years after running unopposed.