The 41st Ordinary UEFA Congress, held today in Helsinki, Finland, has unanimously approved all the governance reforms proposed by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
The Congress ratified several statutory changes as follows:
- Introduction of term limits for the UEFA President and members of the UEFA Executive Committee, with the possibility to serve for a maximum of three four-year terms
- Candidates for (re-)election on the UEFA Executive Committee must hold an active office (president, vice-president, general secretary or CEO) in their respective national association
- Granting of two full member positions on the UEFA Executive Committee to representatives of the European Club Association (ECA)
- Strengthening of the UEFA Governance and Compliance Committee with the additional appointment of two independent members to the current three-men body
- Inclusion of a specific article in the UEFA Statutes to ensure that venues for all UEFA competitions are selected in a fully objective manner through a transparent bidding process
- Inclusion of a specific article in the UEFA Statutes to put ethics and good governance as a statutory objective of UEFA
- Allow experts from national associations to chair UEFA Committees
Commenting on the unanimous approval of the congress, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said:
“I am delighted that our member associations have shown such tremendous support to these good governance proposals. I am looking forward to continue working closely with them and other football stakeholders to safeguard the future of football. “We should not be afraid of taking the responsibility of meeting the challenges of tomorrow and working to rebuild our image, restore our credibility and strengthen our legitimacy as an organisation.”
Other decisions taken by the UEFA Congress were:
- Approval of the annual consolidated statement of accounts 2015/16 and the budget 2017/18
- Ratification of the composition of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body
- Bestowal of honorary membership to Marios N. Lefkaritis, who is retiring from the UEFA Executive Committee
Elections for eight seats on the UEFA Executive Committee for the 2017-21 period also took place, and the following members were (re-)elected for four-year terms:
First ballot (absolute majority – more than half of the valid votes cast)
- Karl-Erik Nilsson Sweden 50 (new)
- John Delaney Rep. of Ireland 48 (new)
- Michele Uva Italy 46 (new)
- Zbigniew Boniek Poland 45 (new)
- Reinhard Grindel Germany 44 (new)
- David Gill England 40
- Michael van Praag Netherlands 36
- Servet Yardımcı Turkey 34 (new)
- Armand Duka Albania 25
- Elkhan Mammadov Azerbaijan 24
- Kieran O’Connor Wales 11
Kairat Boranbayev (Kazahkstan) withdrew his candidature prior to the elections.
Karl-Erik Nilsson (Sweden) was named UEFA first vice-president, while Fernando Gomes (Portugal), Reinhard Grindel (Germany), Grigoriy Surkis (Ukraine) and Ángel María Llona (Spain) were appointed as UEFA vice-presidents. David Gill (England) was named UEFA treasurer.
In addition, three European members of the FIFA Council were elected by acclamation for the 2017-21 period:
- Sándor Csányi Hungary
- Costakis Koutsokoumnis Cyprus
- Dejan Savićević Montenegro
And a further European member of the FIFA Council was elected by acclamation for the 2017-19 period:
- Reinhard Grindel Germany
The UEFA Congress was finally informed that an Extraordinary UEFA Congress will take place on 20 September 2017 in Switzerland, notably to elect an additional European member to the FIFA Council, whereas the 42nd UEFA Ordinary Congress will be held on 27 February 2018 in Bratislava, Slovakia.