Belgian Soccer President Pascale van Damme Set to Join FIFA Council

GENEVA — Pascale van Damme, president of the Belgian soccer federation, is poised to join FIFA‘s ruling council after running unopposed for a seat reserved for a female official from Europe. Van Damme, a former technology industry executive, will be formally elected at a UEFA meeting on April 3 in Belgrade, Serbia, UEFA confirmed Monday.

Van Damme, who has led Belgian soccer for less than two years, will replace Evelina Christillin, a former Turin Olympics official with ties to the Agnelli family, who has served on the FIFA council for over eight years. Christillin was the first woman elected by UEFA to the 37-member FIFA council in 2016. Van Damme’s four-year term will come with an annual salary of $250,000.

Each of soccer’s six continental confederations is required to reserve a seat for a woman on the FIFA council. Notably, no woman has ever been elected to the council through a contested vote against male candidates. Van Damme’s unopposed candidacy underscores UEFA’s ongoing efforts to promote gender diversity in soccer governance.

In addition to van Damme’s election, UEFA will re-elect four male officials to the FIFA council without opposition: Răzvan Burleanu of Romania, Georgios Koumas of Cyprus, Bernd Neuendorf of Germany, and Dejan Savićević of Montenegro, a former AC Milan star. All candidates, who are presidents of their respective national soccer federations, met the Jan. 3 deadline to enter the elections and must pass FIFA’s eligibility checks.

UEFA has also set a Feb. 3 deadline for candidates to apply for 10 vacant seats on its executive committee, including the position currently held by David Gill, UEFA treasurer and former Manchester United CEO. Gill has reached the 12-year term limit for UEFA elected positions. One of the vacancies is for a second seat reserved for women, joining current UEFA vice president Laura McAllister of Wales.

Potential candidates for the second female-protected seat include Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian soccer federation. The elections will take place ahead of UEFA’s congress in Belgrade on April 3.