‘Change’ was the word Aleksander Ceferin campaigned with before he defeated Dutch football manager Michael van Praag in September 2016 and was elected president of UEFA. In this way, the then relatively unknown Slovenian would put an end to the omnipotence of a handful of major clubs. And he promised good governance: more openness about decision-making, stricter controls to prevent corruption and ‘term limits’ – a maximum of three terms for the chairman.
It was understandable that his promises caught on. Ceferin’s predecessor, former French footballer Michel Platini, was brought down halfway through his third term due to a suspicious payment of 1.8 million euros he had received for consultancy services to FIFA, according to an investigation into a major corruption scandal within the world football association . What had been suspected for a long time now came to the surface: the board of the largest sport in the world was dependent on friendly services and dubious financial flows. “Like a gentlemen’s club,” said Ceferin after his election in return for The New York Times.
Now, eight years later, Ceferin wants to implement a decision that, in the eyes of critics, shows that little has essentially changed. This Thursday, the 55 affiliated football associations will vote at the annual UEFA congress in Paris on an amendment to the articles of association that will allow Ceferin to run for a fourth term as chairman in 2027. It is an echo of what happened earlier at FIFA, which rewrote its own rules to give president Gianni Infantino the opportunity to stay in office until 2031.
Three terms
According to Ceferin, it has nothing to do with a desire to stay in power. In an interview of The Guardian he stated that the proposed change is a formality. The current rules are not clearly worded, the UEFA boss said, meaning he could theoretically remain in his post “forever”. The starting point now becomes: three terms, with Ceferin’s first three years as replacement for the suspended Platini not counting. He said he doubts whether the Slovenian will soon stand as a candidate, because he is “very tired”.
The planned adjustment of the rules is indeed causing unrest within UEFA. Last week it was announced that former Croatian footballer Zvonimir Boban is quitting as ‘head of football’ at the European Football Association in protest. The British David Gill, member of UEFA’s main governing body (the ‘executive committee’), has also lodged an internal objection to the plan, according to English media. He is said to have warned that UEFA is falling into the maligned management culture that was prevalent under former FIFA boss Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini.
Yet everyone assumes that Ceferin will easily receive the necessary two-thirds majority for his proposal on Thursday, says a European football director who wishes to remain anonymous so as not to jeopardize his relationship with the UEFA boss. He expects only England to vote against. “For most football associations, the relationship is more important than the procedure,” says the director, who describes Ceferin as an autocratic leader. “He is of the pyramidal model, in which the chairman decides a lot. But he is well known in terms of content, his achievements are not small.”
Opinions differ on the latter. Supporters praise Ceferin, a lawyer and martial artist (he has a black belt in karate), for his fight against the Super League, the infamous and so far failed plan by twelve top clubs from England, Spain and Italy to create a closed elite competition outside UEFA. to start. UEFA immediately threatened severe sanctions, Ceferin broke ties with his good friend and Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli when it became apparent that the Italian was a driving force behind the Super League.
The Slovenian also received praise for being one of the first sports federations to exclude Russian clubs from European competitions due to the war in Ukraine. And he has enriched the football calendar, say his supporters, with the Nations League (for national teams), the Conference League (for the European sub-top), and the long-awaited reform of the Champions League (as of 2024-2025).
Friends services
But according to Katarina Pijetlovic, professor of law (Catholic University of Lisbon) and co-founder of the interest group for relatively small clubs (UEC), Ceferin has not fulfilled its main promise. He would narrow the gap between the football elite and the broad bottom of the pyramid, she says, but mainly serves the interests of the wealthy clubs and leagues.
“Small clubs and associations have nothing to say. UEFA maintains close ties with the ECA [belangenvereniging voor Europese clubs], representatives of the top clubs fill the most important decision-making committees.” And Ceferin’s repeated plea for creating ‘a level playing field’ and tackling financial excesses? “It’s all smokescreens,” says Pijetlovic.
Alex Phillips, former head of governance and compliance at UEFA, is also critical. He left the European Football Association in 2020, saying he saw Ceferin surrounding himself with friends, causing the already limited contradiction to disappear from the organization. A well-known example is the appointment of Zeljko Pavlica as chief security officer, responsible, among other things, for the affairs of major European competitions. Pavlica is considered one of the chairman’s best friends.
(Appointment procedures at UEFA are transparent and thorough, Ceferin said The Guardian“but for important matters you need to know people.”)
It was precisely on Pavlica’s turf that UEFA’s reputation suffered a major blow in 2022, when chaos ensued around the Champions League final in Paris. Thousands of supporters with a fake ticket tried to enter the Stade de France, large groups of people got into the crowd. It was a miracle that no deaths occurred, an independent investigative committee concluded. It pointed to UEFA as primarily responsible for the near-disaster, partly because its own safety regulations had not been complied with.
According to Phillips, this cannot be separated from the “presidential system” within UEFA, which means that loyalty outweighs quality in appointments. Loyalty is also expected from UEFA’s member associations on Thursday, Phillips said, when voting on an amendment to the statutes. “That’s how it is in every autocratic system. If you are not loyal, you will be punished.” In international football, this can mean less chance of hosting a major tournament, or being passed over for an influential position.
It was not known on Wednesday how the Dutch Football Association will vote. The KNVB did not comment when asked.