By Andrew Warshaw
September 12 – As UEFA’s 55 federations converge on Athens for Wednesday’s presidential election, the Iberian vote looks set to be split after Portugal announced publicly it was backing Aleksander Ceferin to take over from Michel Platini.
With Michael van Praag confident he can secure the Spanish vote following the withdrawal of Spanish FA boss Angel Maria Villar, who has been running UEFA as its senior vice-president since Platini was forced to step down, the ballot is shaping up into a tight contest with a number of federations playing their cards close to their chests ahead of the final hours of lobbying,
Ceferin already has the support of eastern Europe, France and most probably the Nordic nations while van Praag, the 68-year-old Dutch FA chief, can count on England and neighbours Belgium.
“I know Michael van Praag for quite some time and I have a lot of respect for him and his ideas but we will vote for Aleksander Ceferin,” Portuguese FA (FPF) president Fernando Gomes told AFP in a statement.
“(Ceferin is) a dynamic person, still young but with a lot of experience on several levels,” who was proposing to implement “a wide and ambitious programme”.
Gomes, crucially, is a member of the UEFA executive committee and at one stage had himself been thought of as a potential replacement for Platini.
“It’s an honour and privilege to receive the support of the FPF, which represents an important nation in world football and are the reigning European champions,” Ceferin responded.
The main task of whoever is appointed will be to maintain the status quo and stave off what many believe is an inevitable slide towards a breakaway Super League even if doesn’t happen for at least five years.
Whether that is the canny lawyer from Slovenia or the experienced Dutch administrator will be revealed on Wednesday morning, 11 months after Platini was banned after FIFA’s ethics committee investigated allegations of unethical conduct. Platini finally resigned in May after exhausting his appeal process, leaving a power vacuum Europe’s clubs have been eager to exploit.
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