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Reuters

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin ruled himself out of running for the Fifa presidency but said Gianni ⁠Infantino would likely face a ⁠challenger if he seeks re-election next year following ⁠a global backlash over a plan to sell part of the World Cup to private investors.
Speaking to The Rest Is Politics: Leading podcast, which will air on Monday, Ceferin said he was not interested in succeeding Infantino despite growing uncertainty around the Fifa president’s future after his abandoned investment proposal.
“One reason is that I love Uefa ‌and I love working here, and I think that at a certain point you have also, I mean, it’s time also to enjoy life a bit,” Ceferin said.
“Let’s see till when. And the second point is, my credibility is much, much, much higher if I’m not interested in the position.”
The Uefa chief, who said he has had no contact with Infantino since controversy erupted over the abandoned sell-off plan, suggested the Swiss administrator would likely face opposition if he stands ⁠again in March.
“There are two options,” Ceferin said. “One option is that he realises 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 [the] football community, the political support of fans, the political support of the players, former players, coaches.

“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.”
Ceferin also criticised the proposed World Cup investment project, describing it as a greater threat to the sport than the European Super League plan that Uefa successfully ‌fought in 2021.
“When you compared in the beginning this plan with the Super League plan, I think this plan is even worse than the Super League plan,” he ‌said. “Football would ‌be literally sold.”
Fifa was contacted for comment on Ceferin’s criticism of Infantino and the sport’s global governing body.
Ceferin said Uefa’s ‌55 member federations reacted with anger after details of the proposal emerged publicly and rejected suggestions that opposition came only from Europe’s ⁠wealthiest associations.
“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 said.
Ceferin rejected claims that Europe was obstructing efforts to help poorer football nations and took aim at what he described as ‌attempts to portray Uefa as an ‌entitled elite.
“What I hear is that they play on, you know, arrogant Europe is against us,” he said. “But I think someone should remind him [Infantino] that he is a European, and that he was supported by Uefa, which he forgot.”
Ceferin said neither he nor Uefa had been informed about either the investment proposal or a separate Fifa Peace Prize, awarded in 2025 to US President Donald Trump, before they became public.


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Fifa

Uefa chief Ceferin rules out Fifa presidency bid but claims Infantino could face challenger

Uefa chief Aleksander Ceferin (left) suggests Fifa president Gianni Infantino  would likely face opposition if he stands ⁠for re-election in March. Photo: dpa

Aleksander Ceferin claims neither he nor Uefa had been informed about the Fifa Peace Prize. Photo: Kyodo

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QFA president Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani (right), a backer of Gianni Infantino (left), says the AFC’s response to his original complaint “raised considerably more questions than it answers”. Photo: Reuters

AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa (left) is a staunch critic of Gianni Infantino. Photo: Reuters

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Fifa president Gianni Infantino at the presentation ceremony of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday, won by Cameroon. Photo: EPA

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Gianni Infantino with the Qatar Workers Cup trophy in April 2016 after being elected Fifa head two months previously. Photo: Reuters

Sport

Football

Head of European football’s governing body brands World Cup investment project a greater threat to the sport than European Super League plan


Head of European football’s governing body brands World Cup investment project a greater threat to the sport than European Super League plan.


Uefa chief Ceferin rules out Fifa presidency bid but claims Infantino could face challenger

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Head of European football’s governing body brands World Cup investment project a greater threat to the sport than European Super League plan

Head of European football’s governing body brands World Cup investment project a greater threat to the sport than European Super League plan