49th Ordinary UEFA Congress concludes in Belgrade

The 49th Ordinary UEFA Congress was held today in Belgrade, Serbia, and members for positions on the UEFA Executive Committee and the FIFA Council were elected.

Elections for the UEFA Executive Committee

The congress elected the following candidates for:

• seven positions on the UEFA Executive Committee for a four-year term

First ballot (absolute majority 28 – more than half of the 55 valid votes cast)

Candidate and number of votes

Frank Paauw (NED) 49

Gabriele Gravina (ITA)* 48

Hans-Joachim Watzke (GER)* 48

Marijan Kustić (CRO) 42

Ari Lahti (FIN) 41

Aivar Pohlak (EST) 37

Armen Melikbekyan (ARM) 29

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Cezary Kulesza (POL) 21

Hugo Quaderer (LIE) 19

Dominique Blanc (SUI) 11

Pedro Proença (POR) 7

*re-elected

• two positions on the UEFA Executive Committee for a two-year term

Candidate and number of votes

Rafael Louzán Abal (ESP) 32

Moshe Zuares (ISR) 31

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Bjorn Vassallo (MLT) 18

Andrii Shevchenko (UKR) 15

Vadims Ļašenko (LVA) 11

• one female member position for a four-year term

Lise Klaveness (NOR), was elected by acclamation.

Ratification of the European Leagues representative

Claudius Schäfer (SUI) was ratified as the European Leagues representative on the UEFA Executive Committee for a four-year term.

Elections for the FIFA Council 

The congress elected the following candidates by acclamation for:

• one female member position on the FIFA Council for a four-year term

Pascale Van Damme (BEL)

• four member positions on the FIFA Council for a four-year term

• Răzvan Burleanu (ROM) *

• Georgios Koumas (CYP) *

• Bernd Neuendorf (GER) *

• Dejan Savićević (MNE) *

* re-elected

Members for positions on the UEFA Executive Committee and the FIFA Council were elected.UEFA via Getty Images

Constitutive UEFA Executive Committee meeting

Gabriele Gravina was appointed first UEFA vice-president, while Hans-Joachim Watzke and Jesper Møller Christensen were appointed UEFA vice-presidents. Sándor Csányi was appointed UEFA Treasurer with a status of UEFA vice-president during the Constitutive UEFA Executive Committee meeting which followed the UEFA Congress.

UEFA Honorary Membership

David Gill (ENG), Karl-Erik Nilsson (SWE) and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (GER) were bestowed UEFA honorary membership for their outstanding contributions to European football.

Annual Report and Finances

The UEFA Annual Report 2023/24; the financial report and financial statements for 2023/24 and annexes; and the budget for the 2025/26 financial year were all approved.

Next UEFA Congress

The 50th Ordinary UEFA Congress will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on 12 February 2026.