Ceferin stamps mark on a reforming UEFA with a strategic plan and a €1m promise

By Andrew Warshaw

April 5 – In a speech delivered with a mixture of the icy calmness and refreshing straightforwardness that has come to typify his leadership, UEFA president Alexander Ceferin laid down his vision for overhauling European football today by re-re-iterating there would be “no empty promises, no empty words, no scandals.”

Shortly before UEFA’s 55 members nations unanimously approved a package of sweeping and far-reaching reforms, Ceferin opened his first annual Congress since stepping into Michel Platini’s shoes last September by urging European federations not to be afraid “to stand up as a new generation of forward-looking leaders.”

Many of those leaders were due to be elected a few hours later when 12 candidates stood for eight vacant places on the new-look UEFA executive committee and Ceferin pulled no punches in emphasising the importance of the reforms in modernising the organisation.

With FIFA president Gianni Infantino sitting a few feet away, Ceferin declared that UEFA was “not an organisation that goes out of its way to grab the headlines.”

Under his leadership, he said, UEFA would collaborate with clubs, leagues and players to develop a “strategic vision” for European football.

“This five-year plan will not be forced on you, it will not come out of the blue, as may have happened in the past,” he told delegates. “It will not be drafted by some anonymous bureaucrat and his paper-pushers hidden away on the shores of Lake Geneva.”

Ceferin made a point of not shying away from some of the most thorny issues in European football, reiterating to Europe’s top clubs that he would never allow the creation of a closed Super League, telling them that “money does not rule.”

“To some clubs I should say… there will be no closed league. It’s as simple as that. That is not in line with our values and ideas,” he said.

If that was fairly predictable, in an unexpected move that is bound to provoke a reaction and potentially cause deep division, Ceferin accused Europe’s top leagues of attempting to “blackmail” his organisation.

The European Professional Football Leagues, which represents 25 countries, has strongly criticized UEFA’s plans to offer more Champions League group places to clubs from the four biggest leagues and is perhaps the one body with which UEFA relations have broken down since Ceferin took charge.

Controversially, the EPFL has openly given its blessing to domestic league fixtures being played on the same nights as European games now that a deal to avoid schedule clashes has expired. This has clearly riled Ceferin.

“To some leagues, I shall say it calmly and dispassionately, but firmly and resolutely: We will never give in to the blackmail of those who think they can manipulate small leagues or impose their will on the associations because they think they are all powerful on account of the astronomical revenues they generate.”

Within his own membership, however, Ceferin’s popularity has grown significantly and will surely be enhanced even further after he promised an extra €1million to each of UEFA’s 55 member associations as a “solidarity payment” from revenues.

When it comes to the reforms – which include term limits and strict eligibility rules for exco members to ensure they hold senior positions in their own national associations – Ceferin declared: “These changes are essential if we are to rebuild our image, restore our credibility and strengthen our legitimacy.”

“It is difficult to preach when you are not beyond reproach yourself. These changes are therefore not cosmetic touches but an overhaul of our foundations.”

The establishment of a new anti-corruption division, Ceferin said, would “tackle all the evils that threaten our sport: violence, doping, corruption, match-fixing, poor financial management of clubs taking part in our competitions, and ethical and disciplinary problems.”

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