UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has ruled out challenging Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency but said the governing body’s chief should consider stepping down if he no longer has the support of the football community.
Ceferin’s comments come after UEFA and other football confederations opposed a FIFA plan to sell stakes in World Cup-related commercial interests to private equity investors. FIFA later abandoned the proposal following the backlash.
The dispute has added to tensions over FIFA’s commercial ambitions and Infantino’s leadership ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Speaking on The Rest is Politics: Leading podcast, Ceferin said he was certain the investment plan was dead and criticized the attempt to bring private equity into football.
“I’m absolutely sure that the [FFE] plan is dead. For me, the most important thing is that we stopped another try to sell the sport,” he said.
Ceferin said Infantino had two choices: recognize that he had lost the support of the wider football community and step aside, or seek another term and risk facing a challenger.
“One option is that he realizes that he doesn’t have the support,” Ceferin said, referring not only to FIFA’s voting members but also to fans, players, former players and coaches.
“The second option [is] 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.”
Infantino has led FIFA since 2016 and had appeared likely to secure re-election without opposition at the March vote in Morocco. FIFA has set Nov. 18 as the deadline for potential challengers to submit their nominations.
Ceferin, 58, has been mentioned as a possible candidate but said he had no intention of leaving UEFA.
“I’m not interested because of two reasons. One reason is that I love UEFA and I love working here,” he said, adding that he believed it was also important to eventually have time to enjoy life outside football politics.
Ceferin also said his decision not to seek the FIFA presidency would strengthen his credibility.
Asked about Infantino’s close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, Ceferin cautioned against assuming that political alliances amount to lasting friendships.
“To be honest, I think you are naive if you think that a politician like that, or any politician, is your good friend,” he said. “The moment you are a problem, you stop being a friend of a politician.”
