UEFA president: 'Keeping football open for everyone is our most important achievement'

UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin was guest of honour at the Portuguese Football Federation's (FPF) inaugural football summit, where he discussed the importance of European club competitions remaining open to everybody.

President Čeferin was speaking following the European Parliament's endorsement of UEFA's vision for the future of football, which is based on solidarity, open competitions, sporting merit, sustainability, inclusiveness, integrity and territoriality.

"As long as I am here, I will make sure that that our competitions are open, because football is for everyone," he said. "Football is part of our society. Football is the school of life. And the dream to win, the dream to qualify, the dream to beat the big guys should stay alive, and it will stay alive, because otherwise, football doesn't make sense.

"Keeping football open for everyone, so that everyone can qualify for our competitions, is our most important achievement."

'A big success'

During a 20-minute interview, President Čeferin also reflected on the changes to UEFA men's club competition formats, introducing a 36-team league phase to replace the old group-stage format.

"We were quite brave to do it," he said. "We had to speak with stakeholders a lot, and it's successful, because before, in December, you already knew who will qualify, and in the last match [in the league phase of the Champions League] last year, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City were not sure if they would qualify.

"This unpredictability of the competition is why we are watching football. You don't watch football if the result is known in advance. So, it is a big success, and we are super happy with it."

Portuguese ambition

The FPF's four-day summit covered a wide range of areas, hearing from experts, including UEFA representatives, across fields such as coaching, refereeing, sustainability, marketing and fan experience.

Among the 200 speakers were Portugal president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, men's team coach Roberto Martínez, EURO 2016 champion Nani and current international defender Diogo Dalot.

FPF president Pedro Proença hopes the event will help to position the organisation at the forefront of innovation and leadership in football: "The FPF has a 111-year history, but unlike people, institutions don’t have to age," he said. "They only grow old if those who lead them cling to the past. That is not our spirit today – we must look forward, with ambition, to do more and do better.

"Today, we open a new chapter in the story of the FPF. A new era of leadership in the discussion about football’s future. We are here with the same ambition as our national teams – always to win, always to lead. That’s what Portuguese football demands."

In recent years, Portugal has excelled on both the football pitch and the futsal court –with their men's teams becoming EURO 2016 champions, double Nations League winners and two-time Futsal EURO champions, while the women have been Women's Futsal EURO runners-up twice, three-time qualifiers for Women's EURO and FIFA Women's World Cup debutants in 2023.

Portugal Football Summit speaker Diogo Dalot holds the UEFA Nations League trophy in JuneUEFA via Getty Images

It is a record that has not escaped President Čeferin, who admitted he would love to discover the nation's sporting secret.

"Whoever has the answer to that question is a genius. All around the world, they say, 'Portugal, ten million people, how is it is possible that they do that?'," he said.

"I think that you have a very competitive spirit. You obviously have a great school of football and your players are skilled and competitive. For me, it's fascinating."

Portugal are well-placed to reach next summer's FIFA men's World Cup, sitting top of Group F ahead of home matches against Republic of Ireland and Hungary this week.