Daniel Sillman

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Biography Daniel Sillman.

Daniel Sillman is the Executive Chairman of Relevent Sports Group, a leading sports media and events company dedicated to growing the global reach of football.

Under his leadership, Relevent has transformed into a major player in international football media rights, securing landmark deals with La Liga, UEFA, and other top leagues. Sillman is known for his innovative approach to expanding football’s presence in new markets, including organizing the first-ever El Clásico in the United States.

Beyond his business achievements, Sillman is committed to using sport as a force for good. His work aligns with the UEFA Foundation’s mission to promote positive social change through football, particularly by increasing access and visibility of the game across diverse communities. His strategic vision and passion for football make him a valuable contributor to the sport’s global development.

Gabriella Csányi

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Biography.

Gabriella Csányi is a Hungarian entrepreneur and investor known for her involvement in multiple start-ups and social initiatives.

She studied business management at Corvinus University of Budapest and later earned a master’s degree in management science from the London School of Economics.

Over the years, she has co-founded and led several ventures, including Like Locals, Datapolis, Pine Design and Simplexity Studio, showcasing her versatility across the tech, design and investment sectors.

Beyond business, Csányi is deeply committed to social impact through her work with the Csányi Foundation and currently serves on its board.

The foundation supports disadvantaged children in Hungary, and Csányi even aligned her academic research with its mission, exploring how to objectively measure talent.

Known for her drive for success, she continues to expand her influence, including through ventures in sport and international asset management.

Luís Figo

Luis Figo

Biography.

Luís Figo, born in Almada, Portugal, on 4 November 1972, is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of his generation. His illustrious career spanned top clubs such as Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Known for his elegance, vision and technical brilliance, Figo won numerous titles, including the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid in 2002, earned the Ballon d’Or in 2000 and was also named the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, the first Portuguese player to receive this honour.

Figo represented Portugal 127 times, scoring 32 goals and leading the national team to the 2004 UEFA EURO final and the semi-finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Following his retirement, Figo transitioned into football governance. In 2017, he was appointed football advisor to UEFA, working closely with president Aleksander Čeferin. In this role, he contributes to discussions on technical aspects of the game, the laws of football and strategies to enhance the sport’s appeal.

He also serves as a leading figure in UEFA’s ambassador programme, using his experience to promote football development across Europe.

Ivan Rakitić

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Biography.

Ivan Rakitić, born in Switzerland to Croatian parents on 10 March 1988, is one of the most accomplished midfielders of his generation.

His professional career spans multiple top European clubs, including FC Basel 1893, FC Schalke 04, Sevilla FC and FC Barcelona. Rakitić captained Sevilla to a UEFA Europa League title in 2014 and won the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona in 2015, scoring the opening goal in the final. Internationally, he earned over 100 caps for Croatia and played a key role in their historic run to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final.

In 2020, Rakitić became the first official ambassador of the UEFA Foundation for Children, reflecting his deep commitment to social impact through football. As a father of two, he brings personal passion to his role, aiming to “put smiles on children’s faces” through foundation-led initiatives.

Rakitić concluded his playing career at Hajduk Split, where he now serves as technical director, continuing his contribution to the sport off the pitch. He also founded his own football academy in Croatia, nurturing future generations of players.

Rakitić remains closely connected to his roots in Möhlin, Switzerland, where he organises the Steinli Cup, a youth football tournament, celebrating his early beginnings and fostering young talent. Additionally, he serves as a La Liga ambassador, promoting Spanish football globally and sharing his experience and passion for the game.

Michele Uva

NYON, SWITZERLAND - FEBRUARY 10:  UEFA Executive Committee Observer Michele Uva during the UEFA Club Competitions Committee meeting at the UEFA headquarters, the House of European Football on February 10, 2020 in Nyon, Switzerland. (Photo by Harold Cunningham - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

 

Michele Uva is a sports manager with skills in the areas of company restructuring, business development and sustainability coupled with a strategic focus on complex organisations, including transparency and accountability processes. He has dedicated his entire career to professional sport across several contexts, disciplines and environments, notably as CEO of sports organisations including the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) as well as professional football clubs (Parma FC and SS Lazio), basketball clubs (Virtus Roma) and volleyball clubs (Zinella Volley Bologna, Volley Treviso and PVF Matera). He has also provided his services as an expert consultant in sports management and company reorganisations around the world.

In 2017, he was elected to the UEFA Executive Committee.

During his tenure, he served as UEFA vice president and chair of the Club Licensing Committee and as a member of the Finance, Club Competitions, Strategic Steering and Women’s Football Committees and the Professional Football Strategy Council.

A graduate of the University of Bologna, Uva has authored six books on the sport and football industry, most recently Soldi vs Idee, published in 2023, and has been invited to speak at COP28, the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos and the UN Global Refugee Forum. He currently lectures on several master’s programmes at universities and institutions around the world and is UEFA’s Director of Social & Environmental Sustainability, having been appointed in January 2021. In this role, he produced the organisation’s Football Sustainability Strategy 2030: Strength through Unity.

Dr. Wladimir Klitschko

Dr. Wladimir Klitschko, born on 25 March 1976 in Kazakhstan, is a Ukrainian former professional boxer and an entrepreneur.

Wladimir Klitschko is not only the combined longest reigning heavyweight boxing champion of all time; he has always seen himself as an entrepreneur. In 2003, he and his brother Vitali started their own business and founded the boxing promotion company K2 Promotions. He also founded the Klitschko Management Group, a sports marketing agency and the Klitschko Foundation, which aims to help children to discover their potential and bring their dreams to life. The foundation has helped more than one million children so far. Together with the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, he set up the CAS Change and Innovation Management programme and the Competence Center for Intrapreneurship. In 2018, he laid the foundations for spreading his F.A.C.E. the Challenge method in the English-speaking part of the world with the start of cooperation with Harvard Business School.

In 2016, he founded KLITSCHKO Ventures, dedicated to building and maintaining a comprehensive, strategic partner network.

Wladimir Klitschko, who earned his PhD in 2001, sees himself as a pioneer transferring his knowledge and experience from over 25 years as a professional athlete to different areas of life.

Wladimir Klitshchko has been a member of the board of trustees of the UEFA Foundation for Children since 29 November 2018.

Snežana Samardžić-Marković

Ms Snežana Samardžić-Marković is the Director General of Democracy at the Council of Europe since 2002. Under her responsibility, the Directorate General works to help our member states in creating a favourable environment for sustainable democracy and democratic security in Europe.

Three directorates and eight partial agreements under her responsibility are providing guidance, assistance and innovation in the areas of democratic governance, participation and diversity. Her responsibilities include the policy areas of education and youth, local democracy, cultural policies, election assistance, the protection of human dignity, gender equality, children’s rights, and the rights of minorities, work against discrimination, democratic citizenship and democratic responses to crisis situations.

Previously, Ms Samardžić-Marković has held numerous positions in the Serbian Government including as Deputy Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Neighbouring Countries; Assistant Minister of Defence (2005-2007) and Co-President of the Serbia-NATO Defence Reform Group; member of the Foundation Board of WADA, Minister of Youth and Sports (2007-2012) and President of the Fund for Young Talents.

Greg Clarke

Greg Clarke was born in Leicester (England) in 1957 and is married with four adult children.

Over the last 40 years, Greg has worked for and led a variety of blue chip asset-intensive corporations, including group chief executive roles at a FTSE 100 company and an ASX 50 corporation in Sydney. Since 1995 he has held non-executive director positions at various major international organisations, and since 2010 he has chaired various companies and organisations within the plc, sports and government sectors. His career has revolved around planning and delivering multi-billion pound projects with an emphasis on safety and punctual delivery.

From 2010 to 2016, Greg was chairman of the English Football League, before being appointed chairman of The Football Association in September 2016. Prior to that, he was also a director and chairman of Leicester City FC. He has been heavily involved in various initiatives seeking to use the power of football to deliver social change, including (i) acting as an ambassador for Prostate Cancer UK, the English Football League’s official charity partner, (ii) leading the football community’s fundraising initiative to support survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster, in partnership with Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC (raising £1.5m), and (iii) personally supporting the work of charitable trusts associated with England’s professional clubs.

Dominique Blanc

Dominique Blanc, president of the Swiss Football Association (SFA), was born on 5 December 1949.

His studies culminated in the award of a federal diploma in sales, and he then spent eight years teaching at university and 17 years as a federal expert, before leaving academia for the world of commerce.

After working for various Swiss firms as CEO and export director for France and Spain, he struck out on his own in the construction materials sector.

Dominique Blanc has an extensive knowledge of Swiss football. Having played the game in his youth, he then climbed the ranks in the world of refereeing, reaching the First League.

In 1981, he became an inspector and a referee instructor at the SFA. After eight years at the head of the Vaud Cantonal Football Association (from 2007 to 2015), he became president of the SFA’s Amateur League.

Norman Darmanin Demajo

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Norman Darmanin Demajo, born in Naxxar (Malta), on 19 April 1952, is married with three children.

He studied accountancy and business management in his home country and at the London School of Accountancy.

He is the owner and managing director of NDD Ltd, management consultancy firm based in Swieqi (Malta) and of various other companies. In 2002 he added Luxol Sport Club Ltd to his portfolio – a sports management company and sports complex.

In 2002 Norman Darmanin Demajo also became a founder member and trustee of the Time2Think Organisation, a charitable foundation that brings together independent trainers, speakers and consultants who are dedicated to sharing their knowledge and personal experience to promote creativity, awareness, innovation, competitiveness and productivity.

Active in football since 1968, Norman Darmanin Demajo won three league titles and three Maltese Cups during a nine-year spell at Valletta FC, from 1973 to 1982. An amateur international, he also represented his country in 1975/76. He hung up his boots in 1990 at the age of 38 after a spell with St Andrew's FC.

A council member of the Malta Football Association (MFA) from 1988, he was also president of the MFA from 2010 to 2019.

Since July 2019 he has been the 1st Vice-Chairman of the Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee.

José Manuel Durão Barroso

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José Manuel Durão Barroso, born in 1956, was president of the European Commission (2004-14), prime minister of portugal (2002-04), minister of foreign affairs of Portugal (1992-95), state secretary for foreign affairs and cooperation (1987-92) and state secretary at the ministry of home affairs (1985-87).

He graduated in law from the University of Lisbon, completed a diploma in European studies at the European University Institute, University of Geneva, and a master’s degree in political science at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Geneva.

He was a teaching assistant at the Law Faculty of the University of Lisbon, in the Department of Political Science, University of Geneva, and visiting professor at the Department of Government and School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.). He was also head of the International Relations Department of Lusíada University, Lisbon. He was one of the founders of AUROP, the Portuguese University Association for European Studies.

He is the author of numerous publications on political science, international relations and European studies. He has been distinguished with many state honours, including the Great Collar of the Order of Infante D. Henrique and the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ from Portugal.

He is currently visiting professor of international economic policy at Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University.

He is also visiting professor at the Catholic University of Portugal, in Lisbon, and visiting professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and at the University of Geneva.

Dr Sándor Csányi

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Dr Sándor Csányi (born 20 March 1953) – he is married and has five children.

Sándor Csányi specialised in finance at university, where he was awarded a doctorate. He later become a chartered accountant, he has held various positions in institutions of the Hungarian government. Since 1992 he has been chairman and chief executive officer of OTP Bank plc.

In 2005 Sándor Csányi used his own private wealth to set up the Csányi Foundation for Children supports about 270 selected children, helping them with their education from the age of 10 until they graduate from university.

He is also chairman of the board of the Prima Primissima Foundation. The foundation’s annual awards – which are presented in a number of categories, including sport, fine art, literature, film and theatre, science, education, architecture, press, folk art, public education and music – are some of Hungary’s most prestigious and coveted prizes.

Since 1995 he has been vice-president of the International Children’s Safety Service, one of Hungary’s most important charitable NGOs, which seeks to improve the welfare and future prospects of children with physical and learning disabilities, as well as orphans and other disadvantaged children.

In July 2010 Sándor Csányi was elected president of the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) with almost 100% of the delegates’ votes. Since 2013 he has been first vice-chairman of UEFA’s National Associations Committee.

Margarita Louis-Dreyfus

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Margarita Louis-Dreyfus – born in St Petersburg, she now resides in Switzerland with her three boys and two daughters.

Margarita Louis-Dreyfus spent her childhood in Russia. She graduated with a diploma in accounting from the St-Petersburg School of Commerce in 1981 and held a number of positions in accountancy, sales and marketing.

Margarita Louis-Dreyfus was married to the late Robert Louis-Dreyfus from 1992 until his death in 2009.

Chairperson of the supervisory board of Louis Dreyfus Holding B.V. since March 2011 and on this board since September 2007, Margarita has also been a member of the supervisory board of Louis Dreyfus Commodities Holdings B.V. since April 2011 and was appointed deputy chairperson of this company in 2013.

Margarita is the founder and president of the Paris-based Louis Dreyfus Foundation. The foundation aims to help reduce hunger and poverty by providing sustainable solutions to small farmers.