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By Andrew Warshaw
March 24 – UEFA President Michel Platini (pictured) is expected to announce on Thursday whether he intends to bid for another four-year mandate.
Platini, elected in 2007, is understood to be undecided on his future plans but could use UEFA’s 53-nation congress to clarify whether he will stand again.
With no opposition to a renewed mandate, Platini looks set to get backing from all 53 member associations ahead of the elections in a year’s time.
Top of the agenda at Thursday’s annual UEFA Congress in Tel Aviv are Platini’s plans to introduce strict new financial rules to ensure that clubs break even and do not buy success with borrowed money.
He will be looking for a ringing endorsement for his controversial proposals which could be implemented in three years’ time and carry a number of potential sanctions.
Platini, a vice-president of FIFA, will also use the opportunity in Tel Aviv to stress the need for the 2018 World Cup finals to be staged in Europe. England, Russia and joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium are all vying to host the tournament in eight years’ time.
The congress has been somewhat overshadowed by continuing uncertainty over the wisdom to stage the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine.
UEFA’s Executive Committee heard a report from Martin Kallen, project director of the tournament, in which he outlined problems at stadiums in Kiev and Lviv.
Afterwards, Gianni Infantino, UEFA’s general secretary, told Reuters: “We are concerned, the problems are serious.
However we have every faith that they will be sorted out.
“It is time now for Ukraine to get into a higher gear.
“We are closely watching the situation.”
Also at the Congress, UEFA are to decide randomly on the dates for England’s Euro 2012 qualifying fixtures which begin a few months after the World Cup finals.
England manager Fabio Capello picked his preferred schedule at a five-hour meeting following the qualifying draw in Warsaw in February but the other teams in England’s group — Wales, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Switzerland – failed to agree.
The Football Association were understood to be disappointed at the outcome, with each country having a vested interest, but the running order for the group favourites is now in the hands of the European governing body.
The same scenario also awaits Group B (Russia, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Macedonia, Armenia, Andorra), Group F (Croatia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Georgia, Malta) and Group H (Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Iceland)
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