Aleksander Ceferin re-elected unopposed as UEFA president until 2027; to oversee new format of CL in 2024

Aleksander Ceferin has been re-elected as the president of the UEFA after going unopposed in the latest European football governing body meet in Lisbon on Wednesday, April 5. Ceferin at the helm of European football since 2016 as the president will serve a term till 2027 and will oversee the new format of the Champions League with 36 teams set to take part in the competition in 2024.

The 55-year-old Slovenian lawyer, elected in 2016 following the downfall of Frenchman Michel Platini, was assured of a further four years in the role despite a turbulent second term overshadowed by the breakaway European Super League project.

The UEFA Congress in the Portuguese capital came just a few weeks after Gianni Infantino was re-elected as president of FIFA, also unopposed.

Ceferin will see the introduction of a new format for the UEFA Champions League starting in 2024, which will see the so-called “Swiss system” model adopted for a group stage featuring 36 clubs, up from the current 32.

Ceferin, who has also recently hinted at softening rules that currently prevent clubs with the same owners from facing each other in European competitions, can expect to face questions on these issues.

Apart from the Champions League revamp, the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules is also on the agenda of the president 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.

Apart from that, Barcelona’s referring scandal and the possible exclusion of Belarus from the UEFA competitions is also in the plans. Belarus is in support of Russia in its war against Ukraine and has been prompted to be excluded like Russia. Belarus is involved in the qualifiers for Euro 2024, which began with defeats against Switzerland and Romania last month.

On Tuesday, UEFA also announced Switzerland as the host of the Women’s Euro 2025.

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