The president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Slovenian Aleksander Čeferin, issued a direct warning to the President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the Swiss Gianni Infantino, stating that the latter may face a challenger in the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March 2027, amid mounting pressure on him due to his disputes with a number of continental federations.
In excerpts from an interview with the British podcast The Rest Is Politics: Leading, Čeferin confirmed that he would not be that rival, but clearly hinted that Infantino’s continued participation in the race might not be guaranteed without the emergence of a candidate capable of challenging him.
Infantino faces two options
Čeferin said that Infantino faces two options: the first is to realise that he no longer enjoys sufficient support, not only at the political level from the federations with voting rights, but also within the football community and amongst fans, players and coaches.
The second option, according to the UEFA president, is for Infantino to stand in the elections next March; however, he predicted that in this scenario a rival candidate would emerge, adding that he does not yet know the identity of this candidate.
Čeferin’s comments come at a time when Infantino is facing mounting pressure over the row concerning his commercial plan to sell shares in World Cup rights to private-sector investors – a plan that has been temporarily shelved.
A growing opposition front
The dispute has turned into an institutional confrontation after UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF accused Infantino of “deception”, whilst UEFA has escalated its stance by threatening to boycott certain FIFA competitions.
Infantino, who has been FIFA president since 2016, had until recently appeared to be on a clear path to winning a new term unopposed, but mounting opposition to the plan to sell stakes in World Cup rights has brought the election race back into the spotlight.
FIFA has set 18 November 2026 as the deadline for submitting candidacies for the presidency of the international federation, ahead of the elections scheduled for March 2027 in Morocco.
Čeferin closes the door on a challenge
Although his name has been put forward as a potential challenger to Infantino, Čeferin, aged 58, has confirmed that he does not intend to enter the race, insisting on continuing to lead UEFA.
He said he had two reasons for not standing: firstly, he enjoys working at UEFA and wishes to continue doing so; and secondly, his lack of interest in the post gives him, in his view, greater credibility when criticising FIFA’s direction.
Čeferin thus leaves the door open to an electoral scenario that could be the most exciting since Infantino became FIFA president, as the emergence of a strong rival would transform the upcoming elections from a virtually foregone conclusion into a genuine battle for the leadership of world football.
Featured image via the Canary
By Alaa Shamali
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