The 7th president of UEFA in its 62-year history, Čeferin will serve out the remaining two and a half years of the term of Michel Platini, who was suspended due to corruption.

In his first press conference as UEFA president, Čeferin said that he would be striving for transparency by introducing term limits for key UEFA officials and to establish a compliance committee to monitor the association's governance.

Asked about his first steps, Čeferin said that he would "go to [UEFA headquarters in] Nyon and shake hands with everybody, to present myself."

Čeferin started out his bid with the support of smaller UEFA members but ended up securing endorsements from powerhouses such as Germany, Italy and France.

Discussing the support from large nations and not only small and medium sized countries, he said that "big associations...believed in me and my programme, and they also wanted to see some changes."

Large-country support had not been seen as a given since Čeferin has voiced reservations about a recent deal that gives clubs from the four biggest leagues in Europe - England, Spain, Italy and Germany - guaranteed 16 slots in the group stage of the Champions League.

He reiterated his message today saying that one of his priorities would be making changes to the Champions League, as he will try to make sure UEFA did not get bullied by big clubs.

"We should show that we are the governing body, we need to have dialogue with clubs and I think that the situation can be solved."

In his final address to the delegates of the 55 national associations before the vote, the 48-year-old lawyer rejected criticism that he was young and inexperienced as disrespectful, saying that he was almost 50 years old and was running his own firm as well as the Slovenian Football Association.

"I'm not a dreamer, I'm a pragmatist," Čeferin said, adding that he would not like to build an "empire of fear" but emphasise the good things done by UEFA, and build bridges and playgrounds to secure future for the young.

In Slovenia Čeferin's election was greeted with an outburst of pride and praise, with senior sports officials as well as politicians highlighting the importance of someone from a small country securing such a senior post.

Slovenian Olympic Committee (OKS) head Bogdan Gabrovec said that the election was of an exceptional importance to Slovenia and his predecessor, Janez Kocijančič, labelled it an "extraordinary success", for Čeferin personally as well as for "Slovenian football, sport and Slovenia as a country."

President Borut Pahor said in a special video message that Čeferin had become "a huge inspiration that strengthens our hopes, pride and confidence." PM Miro Cerar said on Twitter that his win was also a win for Slovenian sport and put Slovenia on the global sports map.

Wile being a relative newcomer to the international scene, Čeferin is a well known figure in Slovenia. He became the third president of the Slovenian Football Association in February 2011, succeeding Ivan Simič, who ended his term prematurely. He was elected for a second term in 2015.

He is also the co-president, along with his brother Rok, of the Čeferin Law Firm, one of the biggest law firms in the country, which was established by his father.

Before his stint at the Football Association he was best known as defence counsel for high-profile defendants including Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković and Alenka Bratušek, the former prime minister.

A native of Grosuplje, a town south of the capital Ljubljana, Čeferin said he would probably spend a lot of time at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, but would not immediately move there.

"In the first few months I will spend days and nights getting acquainted with all issues, and then I will decide. But I'm not preoccupied by this, I have talked this through with my family and enjoy absolute support."