Čeferin elected as UEFA President

Aleksander Čeferin has been elected as UEFA's seventh President at the European body's Extraordinary Congress in Athens.

The 48-year-old Slovenian received 42 votes from UEFA's member associations, against 13 votes for the other candidate, Michael van Praag (Netherlands).

In taking the helm of European football, Čeferin follows Ebbe Schwartz (Denmark), Gustav Wiederkehr (Switzerland), Artemio Franchi (Italy), Jacques Georges (France), Lennart Johansson (Sweden) and Michel Platini (France), who have all served as UEFA President since the body was founded in 1954.

Čeferin was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 13 October 1967. A graduate of Ljubljana University's law faculty, he went on to work for his family's law firm and developed a special interest in representing professional athletes and sports clubs. He later took over the role of company director.

He first took a formal interest in local football in 2005 through his work with the executive board of KMN Svea Lesna Litija, one of Slovenia's most successful futsal clubs. He has also been a member of the executive committee of amateur side FC Ljubljana Lawyers since 2005. 

A married father of three, fluent in English and Italian, Čeferin was elected as Football Association of Slovenia president in 2011. He has also served as a second and third vice-chairman of the UEFA Legal Committee since 2011.