UEFA President Michel Platini has been re-elected for a third four-year term at the helm of European football at the XXXIX Ordinary UEFA Congress in Vienna. Mr Platini, who was the only candidate, was re-elected by acclamation by delegates from UEFA’s 54 member national associations, according to UEFA’s official website.
The Frenchman was elected as UEFA President at the XXXI Ordinary UEFA Congress in Dusseldorf in January 2007, and was re-elected for a second term at the XXXV Ordinary UEFA Congress in Paris.
Mr Platini thanked Europe’s national associations for the confidence they have continued to show in him. “Thank you – thank you very much,” he said. “Thank you for your trust and your kind support. This means more to me than you can possibly imagine.
“I am proud to be your team-mate, proud to be the captain of this winning team and proud of our achievements,” he added. “And I am excited to be taking on the challenges that await us over the next four years.
“As you know, my re-election also means that I continue as [world body] FIFA vice-president for another four years,” Mr Platini continued. “We Europeans want a strong FIFA – a FIFA that is respectable and respected – since FIFA is and always will be football’s supreme authority, the sport’s ultimate governing body.
“I hope to make the right decisions at the right time, both for you and for football, during my third term,” the UEFA President told the Vienna Congress.
“And I hope to do so while continuing to enjoy myself as much as I have for the past eight years. Because leading this remarkable institution is not just an honour, it is also a genuine pleasure day to day. And for that I can but thank you, once again.”
