European football chief Aleksander Ceferin says he is “not interested” in replacing Gianni Infantino but warned the under-fire FIFA president must quit or face a leadership challenge. Ceferin has been vocal in his criticism since Infantino revealed his controversial plans to seek private investment in a company to run FIFA tournaments. However, ruling himself out of a bid to take Infantino’s place, the 58-year-old Slovenian told The Rest is Politics podcast on Monday that he is “not interested because of two reasons”.
UEFA, which oversees European football, has threatened a boycott of FIFA competitions, with several continental and national federations also withdrawing their support for Infantino. Ceferin now believes Infantino’s previously impregnable position is under threat, with him forecasting the Swiss will have to stand down or face a leadership challenge if he seeks re-election at the next FIFA Congress in Morocco in March. Infantino, a former UEFA secretary-general, had the broad backing of European nations when he succeeded Sepp Blatter as FIFA president in 2016.
But Ceferin, who revealed he has not spoken to Infantino since the controversy started, insisted the current situation was very different. I don’t know yet who.” UEFA has been backed by the regional blocs for Asia (AFC) and North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani and AFC boss Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa are considered two of the most likely challengers for Infantino’s position.
Infantino was in the Dominican Republic over the weekend for meetings with local and regional football officials, despite Montagliani reportedly asking him to stay away from a youth tournament there. In video remarks released by FIFA on Sunday, the 56-year-old Infantino appeared to reference the furore surrounding him. FIFA has not responded to Al Jazeera’s request for a comment on Ceferin’s criticism of Infantino and FIFA.
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 re-election until 2031. He has support from the African and South American regional blocs and has looked to sideline the confederations and appeal directly to individual members throughout the crisis.
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