UEFA Chief Aleksander Ceferin has said he is “not interested” in replacing Gianni Infantino but has warned the under-fire FIFA president must either quit or face a leadership challenge in March.
Infantino has come under increasing pressure to step down as the head of world football’s global governing body over his now-abandoned plan to secure private investment in FIFA tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups.
Meanwhile UEFA, which oversees the running of European football, has threatened a boycott of FIFA competitions, with several continental and national federations also withdrawing their support for Infantino.
But Ceferin ruled himself out of a bid to take Infantino’s place as the chief of world football, the 58-year-old Slovenian on Monday telling The Rest is Politics podcast: “I’m not interested because of two reasons. One reason is that I love UEFA and I love working here, and I think that at a certain point… it’s time to also enjoy life a bit.
“And the second point is, my credibility is much, much higher if I’m not interested in the position.”
Ceferin has been vocal in his criticism since Infantino revealed his controversial plans to seek private investment in a company to run FIFA tournaments.
He now believes Infantino’s previously impregnable position is under threat, with Ceferin forecasting he will have to stand down or face a leadership challenge if he seeks re-election at the next FIFA Congress in Morocco in March 2027.
Infantino, a former UEFA secretary general, had the broad backing of European nations when he succeeded Sepp Blatter as FIFA president in 2016.
But Ceferin, who revealed he has not spoken to Infantino since the start of the controversy, insisted the current situation was very different.
“There are two options,” he said. “One option is that he (Infantino) realises that he doesn’t have the support, and that’s not only a political support of the ones who vote, but the political support of football community, the political support of fans, the political support of the players, former players, coaches.
“And the second option that he goes to the elections in March, but in that case, I think he will have a candidate against him. I don’t know yet who.”
CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani and AFC boss Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa are considered two of the most likely challengers for Infantino’s position.
AFP
