Belgian soccer leader Van Damme to get European seat for women on FIFA ruling council

GENEVA — Belgian soccer federation president Pascale van Damme is set join FIFA's ruling council after being the only candidate to run for a seat reserved for a female official from Europe.

Van Damme will run unopposed and is set to be elected at a UEFA meeting on April 3 in Belgrade, Serbia, UEFA said Monday.

Van Damme, a former technology industry executive, was elected to lead Belgian soccer less than two years ago. She is in line to get a four-year term in the FIFA post that pays $250,000 annually.

She will replace Evelina Christillin, a former 2006 Turin Olympics official with close ties to the Juventus-owning Agnelli family, who leaves after more than eight years in the role.

In 2016, Christillin was the first woman elected by UEFA to join the 37-member FIFA council.

Each of soccer’s six continental confederations has a place reserved for a woman on the FIFA decision-making body, and none has ever elected a woman in a contested vote against men.

UEFA also is set to re-elect four men to the FIFA council on April 3 without any rival candidates: Răzvan Burleanu of Romania, Georgios Koumas of Cyprus, Bernd Neuendorf of Germany and Dejan Savićević of Montenegro, the former AC Milan star.

All of the European candidates for FIFA positions, each one the president of their national soccer body, met a Jan. 3 deadline to enter the elections and must pass an eligibility check managed by the world soccer body.

UEFA has set a Feb. 3 deadline — two months before the congress in Belgrade — for candidates to enter elections for 10 vacant seats on its own executive committee, including that of David Gill, its treasurer and the former CEO at Manchester United. Gill has reached the 12-year term limit for UEFA elected positions.

One of the 10 vacancies is for a second seat protected for women, joining current UEFA vice president Laura McAllister of Wales who was elected two years ago. Candidates for the second quota place likely will include Norwegian federation president Lise Klaveness.