Aleksander Ceferin elected new UEFA president

UEFA: Aleksander Ceferin of Slovenian has been elected as new UEFA president, beating Michael van Praag of Netherlands in the race to succeed Michel Platini. Ceferin won 42 of the 55 votes at the Extraordinary UEFA Congress in Athens, Greece on Wednesday.

Speaking to UEFA delegates after his victory, Ceferin said;

"My small and beautiful Slovenia is very proud about it and I hope one day you will also be very proud of me."

"Some people may have said that I am not a leader, that I am too young and too inexperienced to become the next UEFA president.

"It's not because you repeat again and again, loud and clear, 'I am a leader' that you are a leader. If you have to do it you are probably not a leader.

"You can say that I am young and experienced but I honestly think it disrespectful for all small and medium-sized federations who, 365 days a year, have to do more with less."

Ceferin who was appointed president of the Slovenian FA in 2011 and has a background in law, replaces the banned Platini, who was found guilty of ethics violations in December 2015 for taking a payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2m) from FIFA in 2011.

Ceferin and Van Praag contested for the role after acting UEFA president Angel Maria Villar withdrew from the contest to succeed Platini on a permanent basis last week.

Van Praag who is the Dutch Football Association president said:

"I'm standing here on this stage because I've lost and that's why I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate a winner. The man who beat me in the race for the presidency of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin. The man who managed to persuade a majority of his plans and his talents.

"Democratically chosen, he will lead UEFA into the future. I would like to congratulate Aleksander and UEFA warmly, so please give it up for both of them.

"Losing is never fun, but it's a fact that you need to take well. After all, losing is part of sport. I can handle it, but it does hurt a little right now. But I promise you and I promise Aleksander that I will support him wholeheartedly. I look forward to working with him as the new president."

Ceferin who spoke to ESPN FC earlier in the week outlined the three key things he would change on how European football is run.

"First and foremost, I will look to change to the UEFA statutes to include term-mandate limitations for the president and UEFA executive committee.

"I don't believe that officials serving for 20 or more years in such key positions is healthy for any organisation. I would put more emphasis on battling match fixing, which is a disease on our sport, by introducing more security and integrity.

"Thirdly, I would change the bidding process for big competitions and finals for the Champions League, European Championship and other major events. This needs to become completely transparent."

Source: ESPN Soccernet