UEFA will elect a new president on Sept 14, with former FIFA candidate Michael van Praag first to declare plans to replace Michel Platini in a contest likely to have several contenders.
Van Praag, the Dutch football leader, “expressed his intention” to enter the contest during an executive committee meeting Wednesday, UEFA interim general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said.
The 67-year-old Van Praag was expected to seek the job after raising his profile in 2014 as a leading European critic of Sepp Blatter, and as a candidate against the then-FIFA president last year.
Other officials interested in the UEFA race include FIFA vice president Angel Maria Villar of Spain and Slovenian federation president Aleksander Ceferin.
Van Praag, the former Ajax president, withdrew from the FIFA contest ahead of the vote last May, has declined to speak with reporters in Basel this week on the sidelines of the Europa league final.
In a statement released by the Dutch federation, Van Praag said he wanted to “pave the way for a new, younger president.”
“UEFA needs a bridge builder at the moment. I want to use my experience, network and knowledge in the coming two-and-a-half years to make UEFA a close union again,” said Van Praag, who would be barred by UEFA age limit rules from re-election in March 2019.
The new president will complete the suspended Platini’s existing term and become a FIFA vice president.
The 55 national federations in UEFA will vote at an extraordinary congress in Athens, Greece, said Theodoridis, who acknowledged he might be a contender by the July 20 deadline.
“In my life I learned never to say never, but it is not my priority and there are plenty of people there,” said the Greek official, who was promoted to the role of his former boss Gianni Infantino.
The UEFA race is expected to take shape during the June 10-July 10 European Championship in Platini’s native France.