—- The XXXIX Ordinary UEFA Congress, held on 24 March 2015 in Vienna, Austria, has re-elected Michel Platini as UEFA President by acclamation for a third four-year term until 2019.

In his opening speech, Michel Platini reviewed the main achievements which have highlighted his second mandate as UEFA President, including the creation of the UEFA Nations League, the decision to stage UEFA EURO 2020 in 13 European countries, an improved financial distribution scheme for club competitions and the implementation of the UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations. He also thanked the UEFA Executive Committee and all 54 UEFA member associations for their continuous support, without which such key achievements would not have been possible.

The UEFA President also outlined some of the priorities for his forthcoming mandate, which will centre on the inclusion of representatives of some stakeholders in the UEFA Executive Committee, the promotion of national team football, the fight against violence and discrimination, the protection of players and a desire for all confederations and associations to work together for the good of world football and the good of FIFA.

The Congress approved the principle to include representatives of other stakeholder groups as members of the UEFA Executive Committee, pending the necessary UEFA statutory changes. Which stakeholders and how many will be decided. The necessary amendments to the Statutes will be proposed at the next UEFA Ordinary or Extraordinary Congress.

On the topic of the inclusion of stakeholders, Michel Platini commented: “Four years ago we made a first symbolic step by inviting a woman to participate in the meetings of the UEFA Executive Committee. This is now another step towards better representation in our decision-making bodies.”

The Board of Trustees of the UEFA Foundation for Children was appointed, and held its first meeting in Vienna.

Following the Congress, the UEFA President added: “I am also delighted that the Board of Trustees of the UEFA Foundation for Children has held its first meeting, and I would like to thank all its members, and in particular the former President of the European Commission, Mr José Manuel Barroso, for having accepted to be its first chairman.”

The Congress was informed of the increase in HatTrick payments – which serve to finance, among others, the fight against match-fixing, grassroots development, running costs and good governance, coaching and refereeing education, the implementation of club licensing and the development of infrastructures for the UEFA member associations. The amount for each UEFA member association via the HatTrick IV cycle will be €11.1m over four years, an increase of €2.6m when compared to the HatTrick III cycle.

Other decisions made during the UEFA Congress included the approval of the 2013/14 financial report and the 2015/16 budget, while Şenes Erzik, who is retiring as UEFA Executive Committee first vice-president, was made an honorary member of UEFA.

Elections for seven seats on the Executive Committee for the 2015–19 period also took place, and the following members were (re-)elected for four-year terms:

First ballot (absolute majority – more than half of the valid votes cast)
• Fernando Gomes, Portugal – 48 (new)
• Sándor Csányi, Hungary – 42 (new)
• Peter Gilliéron Switzerland – 42
• Ángel María Villar Llona, Spain – 42
• Grigoriy Surkis, Ukraine – 41
• Davor Šuker, Croatia – 34 (new)
• Borislav Mihaylov, Bulgaria – 24
• Servet Yardımcı, Turkey – 23
• Yngve Hallèn, Norway – 19
• Geir Thorsteinsson, Iceland – 16
• Campbell Ogilvie, Scotland – 15
• Trefor Lloyd Hughes, Wales – 6

Second ballot (simple majority)
• Borislav Mihaylov, Bulgaria – 20
• Servet Yardımcı, Turkey – 14
• Yngve Hallèn, Norway – 13
• Campbell Ogilvie, Scotland – 6
• Trefor Lloyd Hughes, Wales – 1
Geir Thorsteinsson (Iceland) withdrew his candidature prior to the second ballot.

In addition, three European members of the FIFA Executive Committee were (re-)elected for the 2015–19 period:

Vice-presidents
• Michel Platini, France – automatically elected as UEFA President
• Ángel María Villar Llona, Spain – elected by acclamation

Member
• Wolfgang Niersbach, Germany – elected by acclamation (new)

Finally, David Gill was elected as the FIFA vice-president representing the British national associations for the 2015-19 period, with the ballot producing the following result, with one abstention:

• David Gill, England – 43 (new)
• Trefor Lloyd Hughes, Wales – 10

The XL UEFA Ordinary Congress will be held on 23 March 2016 in Budapest, Hungary.

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