Aleksander Ceferin insists he’s “not interested” in replacing Gianni Infantino, while telling the embattled FIFA boss he must step down or face a leadership contest.
Asked directly about succeeding the embattled FIFA president, the UEFA chief ruled himself out on Monday, telling The Rest is Politics podcast that his lack of ambition for the role is precisely what makes his warnings credible. “My credibility is much, much higher if I’m not interested in the position,” he said, adding that after years running UEFA, he’d also rather “enjoy life a bit” than take on FIFA’s top job.
That disclaimer came alongside a much sharper message for Infantino himself. Ceferin said the FIFA president’s position, once considered close to unshakeable, is now genuinely under threat, and that Infantino will either need to step down voluntarily or face a real contest for his seat if he seeks re-election at the next FIFA Congress in Morocco this March.
The pressure stems from Infantino’s now-abandoned plan to bring private investment into FIFA-run tournaments, including the World Cup, a proposal that triggered backlash severe enough that UEFA threatened to boycott FIFA competitions altogether, with other continental and national federations pulling their support as well.
Ceferin, who said he hasn’t spoken to Infantino since the controversy began, argued that the current backlash is fundamentally different from anything Infantino has faced before. He laid out what he sees as the two paths forward. “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,” Ceferin said. “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.”
Two names as possible candidates come in the form of CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani and AFC head Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, though neither has formally declared intentions to run.
Infantino, notably, spent the weekend in the Dominican Republic meeting with regional football officials, reportedly despite Montagliani asking him to stay away from a youth tournament there. In video remarks released by FIFA on Sunday, he appeared to address the controversy indirectly, without naming it outright. “It’s important to engage, to have a dialogue, to express views and opinions,” he said. “A lot has been happening the last few weeks and it’s important that you hear, you listen, and you’re able to also express what your feelings are. So I think overall positive, very, very happy with all the support I get here.”
That support and engagement, stood in sharp contrast to Ceferin’s account of a leadership position now genuinely at risk, leaving Infantino’s actual level of backing within FIFA’s voting membership as the real open question heading toward March.
