Former UEFA boss Johansson, father of the Champions League, dies aged 89


FILE PHOTO: Former UEFA President Lennart Johansson gestures at the beginning of the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Prague December 9, 2010. REUTERS/Petr Josek

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Lennart Johansson, a Swede who presided over European soccer for 17 years as its new Champions League turned into a global commercial juggernaut, has died after a short illness aged 89, Sweden's Football Association said on Wednesday.

Johansson, president of European football association UEFA from 1990 to 2007, was a driving force behind the formation of the Champions League, giving the continent's top club competition a new identity, a catchy anthem and worldwide reach.

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