Support grows for Darmanin Demajo’s candidacy as Żurrieq propose Mifsud
Platini to remain UEFA president
A host of clubs have expressed their support for MFA president Norman Darmanin Demajo’s potential candidacy for the next UEFA Executive Committee (Exco) election.
The UEFA Exco issue has been on top of the Malta FA’s agenda over the past 10 days after the subject came to the fore at the last council meeting, held on December 14 at the Centenary Hall.
Joe Mifsud, the former Malta FA president who was unseated by Darmanin Demajo last August after 18 years at the helm, has been a member of the UEFA Exco for the past 16 years and is also the fifth vice-president of the European governing body of football.
Division Two club Żurrieq have reportedly written to the MFA nominating Dr Mifsud for the UEFA Exco election but Premier League champions Birkirkara, and other clubs including Valletta, want Darmanin Demajo to file his candidacy for the same post.
The matter is expected to be discussed at the next Malta FA Executive Committee meeting but it is believed that a number of high-ranking officials have also been encouraging Darmanin Demajo to declare his intention to stand for election to the UEFA Exco.
The Exco issue could lead to another showdown between Darmanin Demajo and Dr Mifsud, especially if the Executive Committee request a vote from the Malta FA council members.
The deadline for the submission of nominations for the seven Exco positions up for election at the next UEFA Congress is January 22.
Meanwhile, Michel Platini will be re-elected unopposed for another four years as UEFA president in March.
Candidates had to be declared by midnight on Wednesday if they were going to stand and only Platini has put himself forward.
UEFA said in a statement: “As of today, 23 December 2010, only one candidate has been announced: current UEFA president Michel Platini will be seeking a second four-year term of office from 2011 to 2015.”
Platini, the former France captain and coach, became president in 2007 after beating Sweden’s Lennart Johansson in a hard-fought election contest.
Since then he has overseen some far-reaching changes in European club and international football.
From 2016, the European Championships final tournament will have 24 teams rather than 16, and he has also shaken up the Champions League so that there are more league champions from smaller countries and fewer clubs from the bigger nations in the group stage.
The biggest change could be yet to come with UEFA’s financial fair play rules coming into force from 2012. Under these rules, clubs in European football will be limited to spending what they earn, although there will be some flexibility in the first years of the scheme.
Platini will be formally re-elected at the UEFA Congress in Paris on March 22 when the Exco Committee election will also be held.