Aleksander Čeferin has confirmed he will stand for a third term as President of UEFA ©Getty Images

Aleksander Čeferin will stand for a third term as President of UEFA when European football's governing body gathers for its Congress in Portugal next year.

The Slovenian told members of his intention to stand for re-election during a meeting in Frankfurt prior to the men's Euro 2024 qualification draw.

A statement from UEFA said: "Čeferin took the opportunity to personally thank all 55 associations for their letters of support for the next elections received in recent weeks, confirming officially that he will run for another mandate at the upcoming UEFA Congress in Portugal in 2023."

Čeferin, who is a lawyer by trade, served as President of the Football Association of Slovenia between 2011 and 2016.

He became UEFA's seventh President in 2016 after French official Michel Platini was forced to resign having been banned from football by FIFA.

Čeferin was re-elected unopposed for a full four-year term in 2019.

His latest term has involved significant challenges, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the breakaway Super League which was proposed by some of the continent's top clubs.

The competition, originally announced in April 2021, included 12 founding teams from England, Spain and Italy and threatened UEFA's prized club asset, the Champions League.

Nine of the 12 team have since withdrawn from the project following widespread backlash, but Spanish sides Barcelona and Real Madrid and Italian outfit Juventus remain committed to the competition.

Michel Platini was the last UEFA President before Aleksander Čeferin ©Getty Images
Michel Platini was the last UEFA President before Aleksander Čeferin ©Getty Images

The three teams and UEFA took their battle to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg in July and are expected to hear an outcome on December 15.

Čeferin has also led opposition against FIFA's proposal to stage a World Cup every two years, rather than an edition every four years.

UEFA struck an alliance with the South American Football Confederation to oppose the proposition, which has lost momentum.

The two bodies have since launched the Finalissima, which is a match between the champions of either continent, and other cooperation events involving women's football, futsal and youth teams.

Čeferin has also presided over UEFA banning club and national sides from Russia from its competitions because of the war in Ukraine, as well as ending a lucrative sponsorship with Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom.

Teams from Belarus have not been banned from UEFA competition, but cannot play matches in Belarus.

Čeferin is a FIFA vice-president by virtue of being UEFA President.