Lisbon, April 5 () Aleksander Ceferin was re-elected unopposed as UEFA President for a new four-year term from 2023-27 at the 47th UEFA Congress held here on Wednesday.
The 55-year-old Slovenian has served as UEFA’s seventh president since 2016 when he replaced French international Michel Platini, who resigned over a conflict of interest and abuse of power scandal.
Ceferin, a professional lawyer, was first re-elected in 2019.
In his acceptance speech, Ceferin, who was the only candidate, thanked delegates for their support. “It is a great honour but mainly it is a great responsibility towards… football,” said the President. “I will do my best not to disappoint.”
“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,” Ceferin said in his opening speech at UEFA Congress.
In closing the 2023 edition of UEFA Congress, Ceferin echoed the pledge that he delivered after his first election in Athens: “I promise you that I will never forget that we are here because of football. We will put football first, always. I will do whatever I can to protect football together with you,” he said.
bc/bsk
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