Aleksander Ceferin re-elected UEFA president unopposed until 2027 | Football News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Aleksander Ceferin has been re-elected president of UEFA unopposed for a further four-year term until 2027 at a meeting of European football’s governing body in Lisbon, Portugal on Wednesday.
This will be Ceferin’s third term as UEFA’s president after being first elected in 2016 following the downfall of Frenchman Michel Platini.
The UEFA Congress in the Portuguese capital came just a few weeks after Gianni Infantino was re-elected as FIFA president, also unopposed.

“We must never forget how beautiful football is, how it stirs our emotions, how it keeps hundreds of millions of people on the edge of their seats, how football defines who we are. European football is a unique success story. It’s a microcosm of our society. This is European football. Beautiful. Breathtaking,” the 55-year-old Slovenian lawyer said in opening speech at UEFA Congress.
Ceferin stressed on the fact that UEFA model is based on sporting merit
“We’re faced with galloping globalisation, and everything that implies. Benefits and risks as well. We shouldn’t forget that. There have been temptations, and even attempts, to create new models, but they conflict with the European model that we cherish so dearly. Our model is based on sporting merit. Where we come from, merit has no price. Merit can’t be claimed, and merit can’t be acquired. It can only be earned. Season by season. On and off the pitch. There’s no room for cartels on this continent. I think we have made that clear, all together,” Ceferin further said.
Ceferin’s re-election by acclamation comes after he fought off the breakaway European Super League project during his second term and he will now oversee the introduction of a new format for the Champions League starting next year.

He will also be able to focus on pursuing the planned introduction of new Financial Fair Play rules, which will see clubs forced to limit spending on player and staff wages, transfers and agents fees to 70 percent of total revenues by 2025/26.
Ceferin also highlighted the need to clamp down on the abuse of players.
“Football is an inclusive sport, open to everyone,” he said. “Unfortunately, some people have still not grasped this concept, which is why we’re going to have to rethink our approach.
“We need to target offenders more effectively when a player is subjected to racist, homophobic or sexist insults during UEFA competitions. We’re here to protect the players.”
(With Agency inputs)