Even the most ardent of followers of the convoluted and murky world of footballing governance would have raised an eyebrow or two when the 48-year-old Čeferin declared his intention to stand for the role back in June - for the simple reason that many may not have had the faintest clue who he was.

Fast forward three months and now he sits at the helm of one of the most powerful organisations in the sport after 42 of UEFA’s 55 members ticked the box for the Football Association of Slovenia chief, 29 more than rival challenger Michael van Praag of The Netherlands received.

His low profile has been well-documented, both before and after his election at an Extraordinary Congress in Athens on Wednesday (September 14). His rise from almost complete obscurity to a seat at the table on FIFA’s ruling Council is nothing short of remarkable.

Such was the inconspicuousness from whence he came that the build-up to the election, a foregone conclusion if ever there was one, led to allegations that it might not have been remarkable for all the wrong reasons.

Accusations that Čeferin, who has only led his home Football Association of Slovenia since 2011, was little more than a lapdog for FIFA President Gianni Infantino began to hit the headlines. Questions were asked, fingers were pointed and thus a cloud of uncertainty was created.

It has been suggested that Infantino, the Swiss-Italian whose tenure as head of the corruption-plagued governing body has been fraught with difficulty thus far, had been lobbying hard for the well-spoken Slovenian to land the role. The Swiss’ recently-appointed strategic adviser Kjetil Siem, the former secretary general of the Football Association of Norway, is also accused of pressing the case for Čeferin to become UEFA President for as long as three years.

An excellent piece entitled “The President’s Man” on the website of Norwegian publication Josimar, in which the above claims first surfaced, was doing the rounds in the final weeks before Čeferin’s election. Among the other accusations made in the article were that the Slovenian had promised the region of Scandinavia the European Championships – UEFA’s flagship quadrennial competition - in 2024 or 2028 in return for backing in the race to succeed Platini and that he had offered a senior role to Swedish FA president Karl-Erik Nilsson should he be successful.

As these things always do, the article found its way into the hands of Van Praag, who fuelled a fire which had been little more than a flickering ember with comments he made on Twitter last week.

"If it is true, then we are back to the old-school way of doing business in the football world," the head of the Dutch Football Association wrote.

In response, Čeferin furiously denied all of the allegations, describing them as a lie before stressing he had not been placed in the running for the position as Infantino’s puppet.

In the end, the accusations meant little as the lawyer won by a landslide, which he had been widely expected to do after his candidacy was given the backing of the influential Football Associations in Russia and Germany. (The issues facing both organisations - one is under criminal investigation concerning the infamous 2006 World Cup bid race while the other is led by a Sports Minister who is alleged to have been involved in state-sponsored doping - are largely irrelevant to those who cast a vote in the election).

Čeferin’s low profile on the day of the Congress itself can be explained, however, by the fact that he was overshadowed by predecessor Platini, who was allowed to address UEFA delegates by FIFA’s Ethics Committee - less of the sniggering, you lot - despite his four-year suspension from all footballing activity for a series of ethics breaches in relation to that payment between the Frenchman and banned former FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

The decision of the Ethics Committee was synonymous with the attitude of both world and European football’s governing bodies in recent times. As the walls fell around them amid corruption scandal after corruption scandal, FIFA and UEFA stood defiant in the middle. Move along. Nothing to see here.

One FIFA official even described it as a "gesture of humanity"– something which has been absent from the dealings of the two bodies for as long as many can remember.

"Friends of football, farewell...It's very emotional for me to be here but I'm also delighted to be here because this will be my last speech to a UEFA Congress," Platini said.

"You are going to continue this wonderful mission without me for reasons I don't want to go into today. I have a clear conscience, I am certain not to have made any mistake and will continue to fight this in the courts."

But now it is time to look forward, rather than back. Gone are Blatter and Platini and in their shoes now are Infantino and Čeferin.

The Slovenian, like Infantino following his election victory in February, is all too aware that the hard work truly begins now. Winning was easy; what will be much more difficult is achieving the aims he set out to accomplish in his manifesto.

The first item on his plate is the growing tide of dissenting voices emanating from the so-called smaller nations surrounding UEFA’s decision to grant each of the top four teams in the main domestic leagues in England, Spain, Italy and Germany four automatic places in the group stage of the Champions League, the biggest club football tournament in Europe and, indeed, the world. 

The move, which critics claim limits the chance for development among teams from outside of the those leagues, has fashioned a widening divide between the likes of the European Professional Football Leagues – the umbrella organisation for leagues from 24 different counties – and UEFA. Unfortunately for Čeferin, he will almost certainly be made to wait until 2021 at the earliest, when the recently-struck deal runs out, to address the issue.

The whole episode came amid whispers that some of Europe’s largest and most powerful club sides were considering forming a breakaway competition to rival the Champions League, which forced UEFA to act. Čeferin simply cannot sit back and watch the current split become a chasm.

While he may be an unknown, the Slovenian has a reputation, particularly at home, for being a skilled negotiator and tactician, who harbours a modern view. No wonder he’s confident the problem can be rectified.

"UEFA is a very good, strong organisation," he said. "It was without leadership for some time and that was a problem dealing with this.

"We have to speak and have dialogue with the clubs and I think it can be solved."

As well as the current club football climate, Čeferin will be tasked with restoring the reputation of the sport as a member of FIFA’s Council, the rebranded Executive Committee which will soon swell to 37 officials from its initial size of 25 once elections are completed towards the end of this month. Many of those who have come before him have used this position for their own personal gain and it is up to him to prove he is not like the others.

Financial Fair Play, an initiative designed to ensure clubs do not spend beyond their means which has somewhat fallen by the wayside as of late, racism and match-fixing are other areas where Čeferin will be required to step up and take discernible, long-lasting actions.

Time will tell whether Čeferin, a man plucked from relative anonymity, can deliver the goods.