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Platini new Uefa president
26/01/2007 18:45 - (SA)
Dusseldorf - Michel Platini won election as Uefa president on Friday, beating the long-serving Swede Lennart Johansson in a knife-edge ballot that was not decided until the final few votes were counted.
Uefa's 31st Congress chose Platini, the 51-year-old former French international, by 27 votes to 23. The decision brought to an end the 77-year-old Johansson's 17-year reign as the head of European soccer's governing body.
"I'm moved, enormously moved, but I am happy," said an emotional Platini in his acceptance speech.
"This is the start of a great adventure."
Johansson looked stunned as he heard the result of the vote, which was decided when the final four ballot papers all went Platini's way.
"It was 23-23 until the last four ballot papers were opened," a Platini aide confirmed.
The vote came on an historic day for Uefa.
The Congress also accepted Montenegro as its 53rd full member and rejected the application of Gibraltar for the same status, although the Gibraltar FA later said it would appeal the decision.
Those decisions followed a vote for the Uefa presidency that was as close as everyone had predicted.
Blatter backing
Platini, who declared after winning the election that Johansson would become Uefa's honorary president, was endorsed by Fifa president Sepp Blatter on the eve of the vote, a move that infuriated Johansson.
Platini should now enjoy a much closer working relationship with Blatter than Johansson ever had, although the Frenchman was careful to stress his independence.
"I've always said that I am my own man," Platini said. "Maybe Blatter won me some votes but he also could have lost me some."
While Platini was backed by Blatter, Johansson was supported by powerful nations such as Germany and French Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes described it as a victory against the establishment.
"Michel went to see people in countries you're not used to going to," Escalettes told reporters. "He came here with fresh ideas. For once, a man and his ideas beat the establishment. That is terrific."
Future plans
Platini's focus now will be on fine-tuning the Champions League, the lucrative competition that is dominated by clubs from the major leagues in western Europe.
The new Uefa president said during his campaign that he would like to limit the number of teams from any league to three. At the moment England, Italy and Spain can have up to four of their teams involved.
Platini's victory also throws into doubt the future role of Swede Lars-Christer Olsson, who is Uefa's chief executive. Olsson is a close ally of Johansson and his position could be under threat.
Olsson was quick to play down that option, telling a news conference: "When you work in a political arena like Uefa you do not choose who you work with - that is Congress' decision."
Platini's position as Uefa president will give him a role as a vice-president on the Fifa executive committee. He was formerly an ordinary member.
He will be joined on the committee by another former playing great, Franz Beckenbauer, who was elected by acclamation of the 52 national associations.
Six seats had become vacant on the Uefa executive committee and in a separate ballot Icelandic FA president Eggert Magnusson, the new chairperson of West Ham United, was voted off.
Uefa gave the green light to a feasibility study, proposed by Scotland and Ireland, into the idea of increasing the number of teams at European Championship finals from 16 to 24.
- Reuters
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