Ceferin re-elected UEFA president unopposed

[April 05, 2023]  LISBON (Reuters) - Aleksander Ceferin was re-elected as UEFA president unopposed during the Ordinary Congress of European soccer's governing body in Lisbon on Wednesday.  

The Slovenian has been re-elected for a four-year term until 2027.

Soccer Football - 2030 World Cup bid - Portugal, Spain and Ukraine Press Conference - UEFA headquarters, Nyon, Switzerland - October 5, 2022 UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin during the press conference REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Ceferin was elected UEFA's seventh president in 2016 to replace Michel Platini, who was banned from soccer administration in 2015 for ethics violations and forced to quit UEFA in 2016 after losing his appeal against his ban.

Ceferin, a lawyer, was first re-elected unopposed for a four-year term in 2019.

The 55-year-old faced his biggest challenge in April 2021 when some of Europe's top clubs attempted to form a European Super League.

The competition was a direct threat to UEFA's continental club competition, the Champions League, and Ceferin called on fans, soccer federations and governments to oppose the "disgraceful, self-serving proposal".

He also led UEFA's charge in opposing world soccer governing body FIFA's plans to hold a World Cup every two years instead of every four.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)

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