The past year will go down as a momentous one in UEFA's history, heralding the start of a new era, uefa.com said in a 2007 review yesterday.
The election of a new president kicked off a fascinating 12 months in the annals of European football's governing body, it said.
During a UEFA Ordinary Congress in Dusseldorf 12 months ago, Europe's national associations elected Michel Platini as the sixth president of the European game's governing body, with Lennart Johansson becoming honorary president after 17 years at the helm.
Platini came to the UEFA presidency after a superb career as a player with Nancy, Saint-Etienne and Juventus plus a proud record at international level with France including lifting the European Championship trophy as captain, on home soil in 1984, and then a smooth transition to the role of football politician and administrator.
In June, following Lars-Christer Olsson's departure, David Taylor, previously chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, arrived to head UEFA's administration as general secretary.
Platini's presidency began with a call at the Extraordinary Congress in Zurich in May for an end to the strife that has affected football's health.
Europe's national associations approved the creation within UEFA of a Professional Football Strategy Council comprising UEFA's vice-presidents and representatives of clubs, leagues and the players.
Platini described the move as "a crucial step, with an eye to gathering together all football families".
Talks with Europe's clubs and leagues continue to bear positive fruit, and a keynote Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the European division of the players' union FIFPro.
The invaluable dialogue between UEFA and football's stakeholders also resulted in changes to the formats of major club competitions, approved by the UEFA Executive Committee in November.
Between 2009 and 2012, 22 sides will qualify directly for the 32-team Champions League group stage instead of the current 16.
These will include the third-placed clubs from the associations ranked between 1 and 3 in the ranking list and the champions of countries ranked from 10 to 12. Also, the Champions League final will be played on a Saturday.
On the national-team front, preparations have continued apace for the Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland, the year culminating in a star-studded draw ceremony in Lucerne, Switzerland.
"The tournament motto is Expect Emotions," Taylor said, "and this now really begins to have meaning."
UEFA's year has again been notable for tireless campaigning on behalf of various causes for the sake of football's well-being.
A "zero tolerance" policy is being pursued against violence and racism in particular. Platini and European Commission vice-president Franco Frattini have agreed an action plan against violence in sport, which targets football hooliganism, in particular.
Eventful 2008
The list of ongoing work is almost endless, UEFA's review added.
Intensive political and diplomatic dialogue with the European Union over a period of years has finally led to the EU's acknowledgement of sport's specific nature in its new reform treaty.
UEFA is also listening to the fans, and a first-ever meeting between supporter groups and the European body came about - because UEFA wants to get closer to the fans who are the game's lifeblood.
The battle against doping, corruption and illegal betting in football goes on unabated.
"As we enter another new year, UEFA's voice continues to ring loud, proud and clear - and a most eventful 2008 is in the offing," uefa.com concluded.