UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin says he won’t run against FIFA President Gianni Infantino but warned the beleaguered head of world soccer that he must either quit or face a leadership challenge in March.
Infantino has come under increasing pressure to step down over his plan, now aborted, to sell stakes in soccer’s biggest tournament, the World Cup, to private equity investors. Three of the sport’s continental confederations accused him of “deception” and European soccer body UEFA threatened a boycott of FIFA competitions.
“One option is that he realizes 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,” Ceferin said in an interview with “The Rest is Politics: Leading” British podcast which is set to be broadcast Monday.
“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.”
Ceferin’s comments were in excerpts from the podcast that were published Sunday in the British media.
November deadline
Infantino has been FIFA president since 2016 and, until the backlash over his proposals, seemed sure to be reelected unopposed next year in Morocco. FIFA has set a Nov. 18 deadline for challengers to nominate.
Despite being widely seen as a potential challenger to Infantino, the 58-year-old Ceferin expressed his commitment to UEFA.
Ceferin told the podcast: “I’m not interested because of two reasons. One reason is that I love UEFA and I love working here, and I think that at a certain point … it’s time to also enjoy life a bit.
“And the second point is, my credibility is much, much higher if I’m not interested in the position.”
AP
