Nasser al-Khelaifi, the Qatari president of French giants Paris Saint-Germain, was Thursday officially appointed club representative on UEFA's Executive Committee, at the Congress of European football's governing body in Rome.
The 45-year-old had been elected at the end of January at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the European Club Association (ECA) which defends the interests of big European clubs and is chaired by Juventus president Andrea Agnelli.
But his candidacy had yet to be ratified and was done so during the UEFA Congress.
"I would like to thank again my esteemed colleagues at ECA for trusting me to represent them on the UEFA Executive Committee," said al-Khelaifi in a statement sent to AFP.
"It is a great honour and together with President Andrea Agnelli we will continue to work closely with UEFA to develop professional football in the interests of all stakeholders.
"I am happy to be part of this great football family today."
Al-Khelaifi takes over from Ivan Gazidis, former managing director of Arsenal and now in charge of AC Milan.
The PSG president will represent the ECA on the UEFA Executive Committee along with Italian Agnelli.
His appointment comes as PSG are still undergoing a UEFA Financial Fair Play investigation, and has been criticised by Spanish La Liga President Javier Tebas.
Meanwhile, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has revealed first details of a new UEFA streaming service and hopes to build bridges with FIFA after his re-election as president of the European football governing body with
a four-year term on Thursday.
The 51-year-old Slovenian Ceferin was elected by acclamation as the only candidate standing for president.
"Thank you once again for placing your trust in me," Ceferin told delegates from the 55 member nations. "I am both touched and honoured."
Referring to a digital platform called OTT, Ceferin said: "We are fully aware that a revolution is under way, and are in the process of agreeing historic partnerships with the world's leading companies in this field."
Commercial partner Alibaba could be involved in what Ceferin said were "new football technologies or joint e-commerce projects."
Ceferin took charge of UEFA in 2016 to complete the term of previous president Michel Platini who was banned for receiving a disputed payment.
As UEFA president Ceferin is also ensured of a vice-president post within world governing body FIFA.
The two organizations have clashed recently over FIFA president Gianni Infantino's ambitions for a new global Nations League and a revamped Club World Cup.
"We will be a source of constructive ideas for FIFA, rather than one of opposition," said Ceferin.
"We are ready to work with the world governing body to ensure that football remains the world's number one sport, and that Europe continues to lead the way."
Ceferin also encouraged a European bid for the 2030 World Cup after coming editions in Qatar (2022) and the United States, Mexico and Canada (2026).
Al-Khelaifi was nominated for the ExCo by the influential European Clubs Association which is guaranteed two of the 20 spots on the body.
Hungary's Sandor Csanyi was re-elected as a FIFA vice-president and also a member of the UEFA ExCo where he is joined by Armand Duka (Albania), Fernando Gomes (Portugal), Jesper Moller Christensen (Denmark), Andrii Pavelko (Ukraine), Luis Rubiales (Spain) and Davor Suker (Croatia).
German federation chief Reinhard Grindel was re-elected to the FIFA council where he, along with Ceferin, is likely to attempt to rein in Infantino, despite the president's promise for constructive cooperation.
Infantino had addressed the congress earlier where he reminded delegates that "football is global and deserves to be developed globally."
The Swiss will stand unopposed for re-election as FIFA president in June but next month in Miami will restart discussions over his tournament projects.
Potential $25bn backing from unconfirmed investors remains a sticking point for UEFA who are also anxious not to undermine their own Champions League.
"All European leagues and clubs get better and better," said Infantino. "What we now have to do is move from UEFA to FIFA to transfer this success to the football world."
