Platini Voted In As Uefa President

Michel Platini has been elected as the new president of UEFA, beating
long-standing incumbent Lennart Johansson following a vote of the governing
body’s executive committee.

Platini will now serve an initial four-year term of office with immediate
effect. 

The 77-year old Johansson has held the post for the last 16 years but was
ousted following a ballot of the 52 members of the committee.

Platini, who was publicly backed by FIFA president Sepp Blatter in the
election, has pledged to limit the number of Champions League places to three,
from the current quota of four.

Platini immediately invited Johansson to become an honorary president of
Uefa.

The 51-year-old former France captain said: ‘This is just the beginning of an
adventure. I’m happy to be able to represent European football. I’m very moved
and very happy.

‘This is a great victory but I have huge admiration for Lennart and I would
ask for Lennart Johansson to become an honorary president of Uefa.”

Prior to the vote, Johansson stated his disagreement with Platini’s stance
over the UEFA Champions League structure.

‘The Champions League is covered by numerous television stations around the
world and there are a lot of sports that are trying to copy it. The future is
his but he has to learn and gain in experience.’