Alaja takes the helm in Finland

Pertti Alaja has been elected as the new president of the Football Association of Finland (SPL-FBF) at the association's annual general meeting in Helsinki.

The president's position had been vacant after Sauli Niinistö's resignation earlier this year when he was elected president of the Finnish republic. Since then, vice-president Markku Lehtola has acted as caretaker president.

Alaja, who is 60, was capped 29 times as a goalkeeper for Finland, and played for HJK Helsinki, FC Haka, Ikast FS, Edmonton Drillers FC and Malmö FF among others. After hanging up his gloves, Alaja moved into football administration and served as general secretary of the SPL-FBF between 1990 and 2000, and as vice-president from 2004 to 2006. He is also well-known internationally, not least for having served as the tournament director at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.