UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has confirmed he will not run for FIFA's top job but warns Gianni Infantino will face an opponent in next March's election, as a major governance dispute continues to divide world football.
The battle for the future leadership of global football has intensified, with UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin confirming he will not stand against FIFA President Gianni Infantino in next March's election in Rabat — but warning that Infantino will almost certainly face a challenger nonetheless. The Slovenian football chief made the remarks amid deepening fallout over Infantino's now-abandoned proposal to sell a 20% stake in FIFA's commercial rights to private investors — a plan Ceferin described as "even worse than the European Super League." Speaking on The Rest Is Politics: Leading podcast, Ceferin laid out two scenarios: "One option is that he realises that he doesn't have the support — not only the political support of the ones who vote, but the political support of the football community, the fans, the players, former players, coaches. And the second option is 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 conflict has drawn battle lines across the football world. UEFA, backed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF, has led the opposition, with sources indicating the three confederations are also considering a vote of no confidence in Infantino ahead of the ballot. The opposition extends beyond Europe's traditional powers: Ceferin noted that smaller nations including San Marino, Cyprus, and Liechtenstein also rejected the commercial proposal, declaring "we are not for sale." Infantino has shown no intention of stepping down and has instead pivoted his re-election campaign toward developing nations, positioning himself as the champion of football's poorer associations. During a recent visit to the Dominican Republic, he told members of the Caribbean Football Union that FIFA's mission is "to close the gap between wealthy and poorer associations" and vowed to "narrow this gap between the big, big countries and all the others." He retains public support from the African and South American confederations.
The dispute has also fractured regional blocs. Six Nordic football associations — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands — issued a joint statement calling for Infantino's resignation. Ceferin rejected the narrative that UEFA is elitist or anti-development, pointing out that Infantino himself is European and was originally supported by UEFA. With less than a year before the election, the contest for control of global football's governing body remains wide open, with major commercial, political, and sporting interests at stake.
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