Aleksander Ceferin is re-elected unopposed as UEFA President. His third term will not necessarily be his last.
At the UEFA Congress in Lisbon on Wednesday (April 5, 2023, from 9 a.m.), Ceferin will probably be confirmed in office by acclamation, applause from the 55 national associations. “I have the written support of all 55 associations”Ceferin said on the YouTube channel The Overlap. “Do you think I can force them to do that? I’m glad the federations are happy with me.”
Ceferin, who came into office in 2016 after the resignation of Michel Platini in a vote against the Dutchman Michael van Praag and was confirmed for the first time in 2019, is starting for a third term. Ceferin has led UEFA through major crises so far – and one day will have left its mark, especially in club football.
The crises: Corona, Super League and Russia
Ceferin was faced with demanding tasks, especially from 2020 onwards:
Corona from 2020: The coronavirus pandemic led to an unprecedented measure: UEFA moved the men’s European Championship from 2020 to 2021. Ceferin’s UEFA coldly sorted out venues that would not or could not allow fans due to the risk of infection. UEFA had to hold European competitions in short tournaments without fans to enable national leagues to catch up in countless games.
Super League from 2021: UEFA experienced perhaps its most serious crisis when twelve top clubs from England, Spain and Italy declared the Super League. Ceferin cleverly united all sports-political interest groups behind him. Fan alliances and British politics also helped UEFA in a crucial way – the Super League initially failed. However, a legal dispute with Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Juventus Turin before the European Court of Justice is still ongoing.
Russia’s war from 2022: Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law, also clearly revealed UEFA’s numerous entanglements with Russia. Public pressure led to the suspension of Russian teams after some hesitation by UEFA. UEFA also announced major sponsor Gazprom and deprived Saint Petersburg of the Champions League final. To this day, Alexander Dyukov, a Gazprom manager, sits on the UEFA Executive Committee.
“Even more trouble than in the past three years – I don’t want to imagine that”said Ceferin.
The rivalry: UEFA vs. FIFA
A great rivalry has developed between UEFA and FIFA over the years. President Gianni Infantino put FIFA on an expansion course in order to snatch more revenue and thus more power in football from the world governing body. Ceferin prevented some of Infantino’s wishes, especially in the merger with South America: The global Nations League has not yet been implemented, nor has the two-year rhythm of the men’s and women’s World Cup. However, Ceferin recently said on ZDF: “The idea is still not off the table. I think it’s a huge piece of nonsense.” This applies to European interests, although Infantino’s ideas have often found favor elsewhere in the world.
FIFA also forced Ceferin to make concessions. The 32-team Club World Cup, causing trouble for domestic leagues and further straining players, is an assault on UEFA’s core business with Europe’s top clubs enjoying fresh revenue from FIFA.
The legacy: the new Champions League
Men’s club football is experiencing the biggest structural change under Ceferin. The reform of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League will one day be Ceferin’s legacy. The league system should bring more top games and a more exciting preliminary round.
However, the real sticking point is still pending: European money has been causing even more inequality in the national leagues in favor of the top clubs for years. From 2024, UEFA wants to earn up to 5 billion euros from the competitions instead of the previous 3.5 billion – the distribution of the money will shape football in Europe. Ceferin says: “We can only slow down the growing differences.”
Under Ceferin, UEFA also focused on growth in women’s football. The reform of the Champions League increased income almost tenfold to around 15 million euros, the EM 2022 in England broke many records for money and attention.
The prospect: Ceferin even longer than 2027?
The UEFA Statutes grant all members of the Executive Committee and the President only three terms of office, and parts of a term count as one term, it is expressly stated. When the three-term limit was introduced in 2017, a year after Ceferin’s election, Congress also enshrined grandfathering for officials who were already in office – including Ceferin. “Terms of office served prior to July 1, 2017 do not count toward term limits,” the appendix reads. Ceferin, who was first elected in 2016, could stand for a fourth time in 2027, which currently guarantees him 2.7 million Swiss francs a year plus pension entitlements.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, also officially only eligible for three terms, can also remain in office until 2031. According to FIFA, the FIFA Council unanimously made it clear that the limitation to three terms of office according to the FIFA statutes applies. A re-election of Infantino from 2027 to 2031 is still possible because the three years after Blatter’s resignation between 2016 and 2019 were not a full term of office. Infantino was thus officially elected to his second term at the FIFA Congress in Kigali/Rwanda in March.