Football
Adriana Garcia 8y

Angel Maria Villar highlights transparency in his UEFA campaign

Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Angel Maria Villar has highlighted "democracy" and "transparency" in his manifesto as he campaigns for the post of UEFA president.

Villar is running against Michael van Praag and Aleksandar Ceferin, presidents of the Dutch and Slovenian football federations, respectively.

The election to replace Michel Platini as head of European football's governing body is to be held in Athens on Sept. 14.

Platini is serving a four-year ban from all football-related activity, a penalty imposed by FIFA, and Villar has been the acting head of UEFA since Oct. 2015.

The manifesto of the 66-year-old, which is published on the RFEF website, announces three focal points that UEFA would have under his leadership.

The first would be "the evolution and protection of our organisation towards the best practices of good governance, transparency and democratic participation."

Under Villar, UEFA would concentrate on the development and promotion of football around Europe "guaranteeing equal opportunities for everyone," and ensure the "protection of the game and the players."

Bilbao-born Villar, a former Athletic Bilbao and Spain midfielder, has been in charge of the RFEF since 1988. Spain have won the World Cup, two European Championships, and an Olympic gold medal in men's football under his tenure.

Villar became a FIFA executive member in 1998 and has been a UEFA vice president since 2000.

Villar has his own history with the FIFA ethics committee. He was fined 25,000 Swiss francs last year by FIFA's Ethics Committee for failing to cooperate with an investigation into the contest to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

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