Boban quits as Uefa football chief over Aleksander Ceferin’s bid to extend presidency term limits


Boban quits as Uefa football chief over Aleksander Ceferin’s bid to extend presidency term limits

Uefa's Chief of Football Zvonimir Boban has quit in protest at a move to alter the rule book of European football’s governing body to enable its president to extend his tenure beyond mandated limits.

Boban, a former AC Milan midfielder and captain of Croatia, announced his decision in an open letter published by Croatian website Telesport, on Thursday and expressed his “deepest concern and total disapproval” to Uefa president Aleksander Čeferin over the planned statute changes. The proposed reforms would allow Čeferin to seek a further four-year term as president when his current one ends in 2027.

Boban - who joined Uefa in 2021 – said in his statement:

“It is with sorrow, and a heavy heart, I have no option but to leave Uefa.”

“Despite having expressed my deepest concern and total disapproval, the Uefa president does not consider there to be any legal issues with the proposed changes, let alone any moral or ethical ones, and he intends to move forward regardless in pursuit of his personal aspirations."

“Ironically, it was the Uefa president himself that proposed and launched a set of reforms in 2017 which were introduced to prevent such a possibility. These rules were designed to protect Uefa and European football from the ‘bad governance’ which for years had unfortunately been the modus operandi of what is often referred to as the ‘old system’ of football governance."

“The reforms were to football’s great credit, and that of the Uefa president. His shift away from these values is beyond comprehension.”

The new rules, which would also remove age limits for members of Uefa’s executive committee, will be voted on next month at a meeting in Paris. If approved by the 55 member federations, Uefa would follow FIFA in allowing its incumbent president to seek a further term in office beyond the current limit of three four-year terms. 

Following Boban’s letter, UEFA also released a statement later confirming his departure.

You may also like

View All

Sport Resolutions launches refreshed strategy to support its sustainable growth and integrity in sport

Sport Resolutions is pleased to announce the launch of its refreshed company strategy, developed in response to continued growth within our organisation and the wider evolution of the sporting landscape

Read More

Prevention programmes believe ACL injuries in women’s football can be reduced by half

Prevention programmes believe training and technology could possibly resolve frequent torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) in women’s football by half or more

Read More

Sport Resolutions invites applications for the roles of Chair and Member(s) of the ITF Ethics Commission

Sport Resolutions is seeking independent individuals to serve as Chair and Member(s) of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Ethics Commission, playing a key role in upholding ethical standards and promoting good governance in international tennis

Read More

Newsletter Signup

Please enter your email address below: