Quick Facts
Biography
Nils Lennart Johansson (born 5 November 1929) was the fifth and, to date, the longest serving president of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, from his election at UEFA's Malta Congress in 1990 until 2007.
Career
He started as a leader in the cockrt of bandy in Sweden for his hometown team AIK. Johansson then came through the ranks in the Swedish Football Association, and served as the association's president between 1984 and 1991. Johansson is probably most famous for starting the UEFA Champions League and for bringing the 1992 UEFA European Football Championship to his native Sweden. Johansson was named Honorary UEFA President by his successor Michel Platini at the Düsseldorf Congress in January 2007.
In October 2007, he was appointed chairman of a committee for bringing bandy into the Olympic programme.
The Lennart Johansson Bowl (Lennart Johanssons pokal), the trophy awarded to the Swedish football champions each year since 2001, is named after him.