UEFA chief Ceferin rules out FIFA presidency bid, says Infantino may face rival

UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin has ruled out challenging Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency but expects an opposition candidate to emerge. Infantino, meanwhile, is courting smaller associations with a promise to narrow football's financial divide.FIFA president Gianni Infantino with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin in a file photo (Reuters Photo)UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has ruled out challenging Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency, but believes the incumbent could face an opposition candidate when the election takes place next March. The development comes as football's global governing structure remains embroiled in a dispute over its future direction.Ceferin said he had no interest in succeeding Infantino, but suggested the FIFA president could either recognise that he has lost support or contest the election against a rival. He also argued that the controversy surrounding Infantino extends beyond the officials who will cast their votes."There are two options," Ceferin told The Rest Is Politics: Leading podcast."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 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."The Slovenian also dismissed the idea that UEFA's opposition to Infantino is driven solely by Europe's biggest football nations. He pointed to smaller associations that, according to him, had also rejected FIFA's controversial commercial proposal.INFANTINO MAKES CASE TO WORLD'S SMALLER ASSOCIATIONS Infantino, meanwhile, has continued to position himself as an advocate for football associations outside the game's wealthiest nations. Speaking after meeting members of the Caribbean Football Union in the Dominican Republic, he said FIFA's priority should be reducing the financial gap between countries."We want to grow football in every one of our 211 countries in the world," Infantino said."We need to find investments for all the others, opportunities for all the others. This is about, indeed, finding and giving opportunities, access, and resources to world football."He added that some powerful associations did not want smaller nations to close the gap and insisted that expanding opportunities would remain central to FIFA's work.Infantino has support from the African and South American confederations and has increasingly appealed directly to individual national associations during the dispute. He also said he had received a warm welcome in the Dominican Republic, despite CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani having asked him not to attend the under-14 tournament there.The dispute intensified after Infantino's proposal to create a commercial entity for FIFA tournament rights and sell a 20% stake to private investors was abandoned. UEFA, alongside the AFC and CONCACAF, has emerged as a leading force of opposition, while sources have indicated that a vote of no confidence could also be considered before the election.Ceferin compared the abandoned commercial plan unfavourably with UEFA's battle against the European Super League, saying it posed an even greater threat to football's structure."Someone should remind him that he is a European, and that he was supported by UEFA, which he forgot," Ceferin said.The FIFA election is scheduled for March next year, with Infantino showing no indication that he intends to step aside.- EndsPublished By: Debodinna ChakrabortyPublished On: Aug 24, 2026 12:28 IST