Proposed Uefa rule over Aleksander Ceferin’s presidency sparks unrest

The Slovenian official could profit from proposed changes at congress on 8 February and subsequently extend his reign to 2031

Uefa Aleksander Ceferin attends an Italy training session at Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano in October 2023 (Getty Images)

Aleksander Ceferin could be left clear to stay as Uefa president until 2031, as a result of proposed changes to the federation statutes that are causing deep unrest among the member associations.

Such a move would mean the Slovenian official will have been in power for almost 15 years, which an increasing number of federation heads feel runs contrary to good governance.

That also comes at a time when there is increased scrutiny on the governance within Uefa and Fifa after the European Court of Justice ruling on the European Super League in December, as well as more questions about whether the executive presidential structure is in the best interests of how the game is run. The system has afforded individual politicians huge power in the global game.

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The Independent reported in December how there is now such a level of dissatisfaction within Uefa that a heave is beginning to build behind Romanian chief Razvan Burleanu as a potential competitor to Ceferin.

The Slovenian official has been in power since 2016, when he inherited Michel Platini's term after the former French player resigned after losing an appeal against his ban from football over a "disloyal payment" from former Fifa president, Sepp Blatter.

Should all changes be voted through at Uefa Congress on 8 February, no person may serve as president for more than three terms of office, with partial terms also counting as one full term. Crucially, however, those terms "started or served before 1 July 2017 shall not be taken into account".

That would mean Ceferin's period under Platini's intended term would not count, leaving him to run again in 2027.

The proposals are outlined in a document titled "Amendments to the Uefa statutes" seen by the Independent, and passed to all member associations as a matter of procedure before Congress on 8 February in Paris.

It has led to deep disgruntlement within the confederation, in what is becoming a defined split about Ceferin's leadership. Although the Slovenian was anticipated to be a mediating force that would help smaller clubs and countries against the power of the super clubs, the feeling is that the opposite has happened, as witnessed in the forthcoming Champions League changes.

Ceferin could extend his reign until 2031 (Associated Press)

There is also remaining disquiet about the failed attempt to have Russian youth teams reinstated into European competition after the invasion of Ukraine.

In another proposed change, a paragraph setting an age limit of 70 years old for Uefa ExCo members is to be removed. The official reason given is that term limits mitigate the need for this, but the suspicion among a growing opposition group is that it would benefit Ceferin ally Sandor Csanyi. The Hungarian turns 71 in March.

Uefa did not offer any comment when requested.