UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin, has ruled out challenging Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency but warned that the world football governing body’s president could face an opponent if he seeks another term.
Infantino has faced growing criticism over his now-abandoned proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors.
The plan sparked opposition from three continental confederations, while UEFA also threatened a boycott of FIFA competitions.
Speaking in an interview with the British podcast The Rest is Politics: Leading, Ceferin said Infantino had two options: step aside after recognising that he no longer enjoyed sufficient support or contest the election and face a challenger.
“One option is that he realizes 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,” Ceferin said.
“And 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 served as FIFA president since 2016 and had appeared certain to win re-election unopposed next year in Morocco before the backlash over his proposals.
FIFA has set November 18 as the deadline for potential challengers to submit their nominations.
Although Ceferin has long been viewed as a possible challenger, the 58-year-old said he remains committed to UEFA and has no interest in taking over FIFA.
Ceferin told the 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.”
