Aleksander Ceferin, president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), said Gianni Infantino should step down as FIFA president amid mounting pressure ahead of next year's presidential election.
Speaking on the podcast "The Rest Is Politics: Leading", Ceferin said Infantino faced two options. Either he would come to realise he lacked support, not just political backing from the federations that vote but also support from the wider football community, fans, players, former players and coaches, or he would go ahead and run in the March election, in which case Ceferin said he expected Infantino to face a rival candidate, though he did not know yet who that would be. He was quoted by Reuters.
In doing so, Ceferin appeared to signal that he himself would not be a candidate to lead FIFA.
Opposition builds within FIFA
UEFA, backed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), has emerged at the head of the opposition to Infantino. Reuters reported that the three confederations were also considering a third option: a vote of no confidence in Infantino before the election in March next year.
Criticism of Infantino has been building for some time, fuelled by organisational controversies before the World Cup, the handling of Folarin Balogun's suspended red card during the tournament, and a post-tournament proposal to sell stakes in FIFA competitions to private investors.
Infantino fights back
Infantino is not giving up and intends to seek re-election, with support from less wealthy national federations expected to help his cause. FIFA recently released footage from a meeting with members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in the Dominican Republic, at which Infantino said FIFA wanted to develop football in each of its 211 member countries.
He said that unfortunately some did not need or want others to develop, but that the gap between the very largest countries and everyone else had to be narrowed, according to Reuters.
By Reuters' reckoning, Infantino also enjoys support in Africa and South America.
Nordic nations back resignation calls
The opposition appears larger still. On Sunday, representatives of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands met in Helsinki and issued a joint statement backing calls for Infantino to resign.
As for a possible rival candidate, reports have recently circulated suggesting UEFA's candidate to lead FIFA could be Dariusz Mioduski.
