Slovenian Aleksander Čeferin has been elected as UEFA's seventh President at the Extraordinary UEFA Congress in Athens, taking 42 votes to Michael van Praag's 13. At the UEFA congress, Malta is represented by MFA President Norman Darmanin Demajo and General Secretary Bjorn Vassallo. Darmanin Demajo casted Malta's vote and confirmed with this website that Malta's vote went to Ceferin. Contacted by this website, the MFA President said:"Altough both candidates presented an interesting program, the absolute majority of the UEFA Congress, including Malta, voted for the younger candidate who promises to herald a new chapter in UEFA's history. Yet, he will continue to build on the successful platform that makes UEFA the strongest confederation within FIFA,"
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.The 48-year-old Slovenian received 42 votes from UEFA's member associations, against 13 votes for the other candidate, Michael van Praag (Netherlands). Aleksander 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. A member of the executive committee of amateur side FC Ljubljana Lawyers since 2005, A married father of three, fluent in English and Italian, Aleksander 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.