UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has confirmed his decision to step down as UEFA President when his current tenure expires in 2027, MySportDab reports.
Ceferin, 56, became President of the European football governing in 2016, replacing Italian football veteran Michel Platini. In 2019, he was re-elected for his second tenure which expired in 2023..
In 2023, Ceferin was reelected again to continue for his third term. His current tenure was set to expire in 2027. Ahead of the expiration of his current tenure, UEFA member nations, represented by their FAs, opted to amend UEFA statutes to allow Ceferin to contest for a fourth term.
As per the Mail, about 49 of the 55 member associations voted for the amendment which would have seen Ceferin take his reign as UEFA to 15 years against the maximum 12 years done by former Presidents as prescribed statutes.
England FA are said to have been the only FA that vetoed the amendment in rejection of Ceferin’s signature policies which include allowing more female representation in the UEFA Executive Committee.
With 49 members out of 55 voting him to continue, Ceferin would have opted to stay put beyond 2027 but he had decided to resign at the end of 2027 when his current tenure expires.
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Announcing his decision to resign, the Slovenian-born football executive said;
“I will step down from running as President in 2027
‘The reason is that after some time every organisation needs fresh blood, but mainly because I was away from my family for seven years now.
‘I intentionally didn’t want to disclose my thoughts before, because firstly, I wanted to see the real face of some people and I saw it.
‘I have a beautiful life in football, I have a beautiful life outside of football as well.’
Following Ceferin’s decision, a new UEFA President is expected to emerge in 2027 to take over from Ceferin.
