Aleksander Ceferin, president of European football's governing body UEFA and one of Gianni Infantino's most prominent critics, said on Monday, August 24, that he will not run against Infantino for the FIFA presidency at the next election.
Ceferin made the announcement in an interview with the British podcast The Rest Is Politics, ahead of the vote scheduled for March 2027. "I am not interested" in the FIFA presidency, he said, adding that he loves UEFA and the work he does there. His credibility as an opponent of Infantino, he said, is far greater if he has no personal interest in the job himself.
Ceferin's decision not to run
Ceferin, a 58-year-old Slovenian who has led UEFA since 2016 and whose current term runs until 2027, said he also wants to "enjoy life." He had kept observers guessing for months over whether he would seek the FIFA job.
Under his leadership, UEFA has said it would boycott all FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, a threat it has repeated even after Infantino withdrew a separate, contested project. UEFA continues to push for Infantino to leave his post.
Ceferin laid out two scenarios for Infantino. "The first option is that he realizes he doesn't have the support (needed for re-election)," he said. "The other option is that he takes part in the vote, but in that case, I think we will have a candidate against him. I don't know yet who." Ceferin said he has not spoken to Infantino, an Italian-Swiss national and former UEFA secretary general, since the crisis began.
According to various media reports, Victor Montagliani, the Canadian president of CONCACAF, the confederation covering North and Central America and the Caribbean, could emerge as a candidate against Infantino.
Opposition to Infantino grows
Alongside UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have been the most vocal opponents of the FIFA president. The three confederations recently signed a joint statement calling for the football community to unite behind their cause.
"We want to develop football in each of our 211 member federations around the world. Some, unfortunately, do not need that, and do not want others to progress, but we have to close the gap between the big countries and everyone else," Infantino said in an interview published by FIFA on Sunday. He made the comments after meeting Montagliani over the weekend at a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) gathering in the Dominican Republic.
On the podcast, Ceferin pushed back on FIFA's framing of the dispute. "What I'm hearing is that they (FIFA) are playing the 'arrogant Europe is against us' card," he said. "But I think someone should remind him that he is European, and that he was supported by UEFA."
The Rabat crisis meeting
Facing an outcry over his plan to open FIFA to private investors, Infantino called a crisis meeting in Rabat in early August. FIFA's leadership reiterated its "full support" for him while offering "apologies" for the controversy the project had caused.
Kevin Lamour, FIFA's French number three official who had publicly disavowed the investor project, left his position last week, it emerged. The Confederation of African Football (CAF), by contrast, "unanimously reaffirmed its support" for Infantino.
US President Donald Trump, a close ally of Infantino, also weighed in, warning that FIFA "would make a terrible mistake if, for any reason, it considered" replacing this "formidable" man.
Infantino's response
"It's important to get involved, to engage in dialogue, to express your views and opinions," Infantino said from the Dominican Republic, adding that a great deal had happened in recent weeks. "I think overall it's positive, I am very, very happy with all the support I'm receiving," he said.
The FIFA presidential election will be held in Rabat. Infantino is currently the only declared candidate and must secure a majority of the 211 votes held by member federations to be re-elected.
