Uefa’s Ceferin rules out Fifa presidency run, Infantino pitches to poorer associations

Fifa president Gianni Infantino laid out his manifesto for reelection as the champion of poorer soccer nations on Sunday as Uefa chief Aleksander Ceferin ruled out running against him but said he thought there would be an opposition candidate.

Almost a month after Infantino tabled his now abandoned proposal to create a commercial body for Fifa tournament rights and sell off 20% to private investors, the battle for the future of global governance of the world’s most popular sport rages on.

European governing body Uefa, backed by the regional blocs for Asia (AFC) and North and Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf), has led the opposition and Ceferin suggested that Infantino should stand down.

“There are two options,” he told The Rest Is Politics: Leading podcast.

“One option is he realises 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.

BREAKING: UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin has announced that he wont run against FIFA president Gianni Infantino 🚨 pic.twitter.com/44laoNhaKz

“And the second option 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.”

Reuters has contacted Fifa for comment on Ceferin’s criticism of Infantino and the sport’s global governing body.

Sources familiar with the process told Reuters last week that Uefa, the AFC and Concacaf were considering a third option — a vote of no confidence in Infantino ahead of the ballot in March next year.

Slovenian Ceferin, who said he had had no contact with Infantino since the controversy erupted, thought his lack of interest in succeeding the Swiss administrator increased his credibility.

Ceferin said the proposal was a greater threat to the sport than the European Super League plan that Uefa successfully fought in 2021, and said opposition was not just from Europe’s bigger 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 ... They said: we’re not for sale,” he added.

CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani has been touted as a successor to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino. @jamesmatthewsky tracked him down in the Dominican Republic. Read more: https://t.co/Pxbh6Qu6lC pic.twitter.com/w6F9Gtt9YU

Infantino has shown no signs of walking away from the position he has held since 2016 and made it clear that he was banking on his appeal to the less well-off national associations to win reelection until 2031.