Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin has ruled out running for the Fifa presidency against Gianni Infantino, but suggested that another candidate could challenge the incumbent in next year’s election.
The dispute over the future leadership of world football has intensified following Infantino’s controversial proposal to establish a commercial entity for Fifa tournament rights, including a plan to sell a 20% stake to private investors. The proposal was later abandoned.
Uefa, backed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF, has emerged as the main opposition bloc to Infantino, who has led Fifa since 2016.
Ceferin suggested that Infantino should consider stepping down if he no longer has the support of the wider football community.
“There are two options,” Ceferin said in an interview with The Rest Is Politics: Leading podcast.
He said Infantino could recognise that he had lost political support among voters as well as support from football fans, 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,” Ceferin said.
Reuters reported that Uefa, AFC and CONCACAF are also considering a possible vote of no confidence against Infantino ahead of the March election.
Ceferin, a Slovenian, said he had no interest in replacing Infantino and argued that his decision not to run strengthened his credibility in the dispute.
Opposition extends beyond Europe’s major nations
Ceferin said Infantino’s abandoned proposal posed a greater threat to football than the European Super League project that Uefa successfully opposed in 2021.
He also rejected the idea that opposition to Infantino was limited to Europe’s wealthier football nations.
“On one side was England, Germany, who you understand don’t want that, because this money is not so big for them. But on the other side was San Marino, Cyprus, Liechtenstein,” Ceferin said.
“They said: we’re not for sale.”
Infantino, meanwhile, has shown no indication that he plans to step aside. He has focused on his support among less wealthy football associations and is seeking another term that would keep him in office until 2031.
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In a video released by Fifa after his meeting with Caribbean Football Union members in the Dominican Republic, Infantino said the organisation’s priority was to reduce the gap between football’s richest and poorest nations.
“We want to grow football in every one of our 211 countries in the world,” he said.
He argued that Fifa needed to provide investment, opportunities and resources to associations that needed them, adding that the organisation should continue working to narrow the gap between the biggest football nations and the rest.
Infantino has received support from the African and South American football confederations and has increasingly appealed directly to individual national associations during the dispute.
Nordic nations call for Infantino’s resignation
Infantino said he had received a positive reception during his visit to the Dominican Republic, where he attended an under-14 tournament.
The tournament is part of Fifa’s development programme, while CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani had previously asked Infantino not to attend, warning that his presence could overshadow the event.
Meanwhile, six Nordic Fifa members — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands — met in Helsinki on Sunday and issued a joint statement supporting calls for Infantino to resign.
Ceferin also rejected accusations that Uefa was blocking efforts to develop football in poorer countries.
He criticised what he described as attempts to portray Europe as an arrogant football elite opposing the interests of developing nations.
Ceferin also reminded Infantino that he himself is European and was originally supported by Uefa.
