Răzvan Burleanu

Nationality: Romanian
Date of birth: 1 July 1984
FIFA Council member since: 2021

The son of a former footballer – his father Gheorghe Burleanu made more than 350 top-flight appearances – Răzvan Burleanu played football at youth level. He decided to move into academic studies at the age of 19, reading political sciences at the National School of Political and Administrative Studies in Bucharest, and graduating following several master’s studies, including sports management, and a doctoral thesis in organisational management, while continuing his involvement in football development at grassroots level.

Răzvan Burleanu has worked for the municipal authorities in the city of Bacau, as well as for the Parliament of Romania and the Presidential Administration of Romania. He was elected as a FIFA Council member in April 2021. Elected for the first time as Romanian Football Federation (FRF) president in 2014, he was re-elected for a second term in 2018.

Since 2017, Burleanu has coordinated the UEFA-EU working group. In 2019, he was named as a member of the UEFA task force appointed to draw up the commercial strategies related to national team competitions, and also became chairman of the UEFA Media Committee. He has also acted as first vice-chairman of the UEFA Marketing Advisory Committee. Burleanu is the first Romanian to have been elected to the FIFA Council since the FRF joined the world body in 1923, and he is also its youngest member.