Just Spee was elected a member of the UEFA executive committee on Tuesday afternoon, the KNVB has announced through official channels. The chairman of the Dutch Football Association thus succeeds Michael van Praag, who has stepped down from his role at UEFA after three terms. Van Praag was a total of twelve you on the board of the European Football Association.
The UEFA board consists of presidents of various football associations in Europe. Italy, Sweden, Poland, Russia, the vice president of the Turkish and German federations and former Manchester United director David Gill are part of the body. “First and foremost, we do our football a great service by talking about football at the highest levels in football,” said Spee. “That is emphasized in current affairs, when you study the initiative of the European Super League.”
The KNVB said in a response on Monday that the plans for the Super League came as a big shock to the union. “It is a difficult file, a revolutionary idea that a very large part of European football is not waiting for”, Spee continues. “What we have to do is try to restore unity in our football. For the KNVB, the starting point is always that the football ecosystem and thus a fair playing field are safeguarded. We are going to work on that.”
Finally, Spee thanks Van Praag. “I would like to say a huge thank you to my predecessor Michael for all his work over the past twelve years. The fact that he was made an honorary member of UEFA here also says a lot. ” The new UEFA board will continue meetings on the issue of the Super League on Friday. In addition to Spee’s appointment, the union also announced that David Martin has been named FIFA’s vice president for the next two years.