Johansson wins vice presidents' support

Lennart Johansson is looking strong in his bid for re-election as UEFA president, as UEFA's five vice presidents have expressed support for him in a letter sent to th4e 52 national associations.

The letter, of which Reuters obtained a copy on Thursday, was sent on Dec. 11 and signed by vice presidents Angel Maria Villar Llona, Mathieu Sprengers, Geoff Thompson, Senes Erzik and Per Ravn Omdal. It did not have an official header.

"As vice presidents and treasurer of UEFA we have decided to provide our full backing to Lennart Johansson for his re-election at the 2007 Congress," it read.

Johansson, 77, faces former France captain Michel Platini for the presidency in Duesseldorf on Jan. 26.

Johansson often claimed he would not stand for re-election but changed his mind earlier this year when Platini said he would run for presidency. A source told Reuters that at least two of the vice presidents had promised their votes to Platini.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.