Aleksander Ceferin to seek fourth term as Uefa president after Berlin meeting

Aleksander Ceferin will stand for a fourth term as Uefa president, he told delegates at a meeting of all 55 national association chiefs in Berlin on 8 October 2026, and Uefa published a 14-point plan reaffirming its opposition to Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

Ceferin’s announcement reverses his February 2024 statement that he would not seek re-election; he was initially elected in 2016 and had been at the centre of a dispute over Uefa changing its statutes to permit a fourth term. The 58-year-old had increasingly been expected to run again, a prospect that gained momentum after Uefa began efforts to challenge Infantino.

Uefa framed its intervention in global governance by issuing a 14-point reform plan for Fifa while publicly opposing the incumbent president. Much of the plan centres on institutional governance and removes some of the direct powers of the president, which led to the creation of the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal behind closed doors.

The proposals call for removing presidential or executive interference from oversight bodies covering ethics and disciplinary matters and state that no Fifa resources should be used for personal or electoral interests. Uefa also proposed that at least $10m (£7.5m) of additional funding should be made available to each of the 211 member associations.

Uefa added a statement on leadership, saying: "Institutional reform will not, on its own, be enough," and continued: "Fifa also needs new leadership: a respected and unifying figure, deeply rooted in football, with the vision and experience to lead, the ability to command confidence across regions and an unequivocal commitment to development, reform, integrity and independence."

Ceferin said of his decision: "I want to thank the national associations for their trust. We have faced extraordinary challenges over the past years, and we have faced them as one team. There is still important work ahead, and I have therefore accepted their request. My ambition remains the same: to keep European football united, make our game stronger and leave Uefa ready for the next generation." He has ruled out standing against Infantino himself but said he is committed to finding a candidate the game can unite around for Fifa's presidential election.

At the Berlin meeting, Uefa and 54 of the national associations, Azerbaijan being the exception, agreed on a clear direction for Fifa reform; the move followed Infantino's decision to scrap a controversial plan to sell off stakes in the governing body's competitions to private investors after widespread opposition.

Infantino is due to stand for re-election as Fifa president in March, and as yet no confirmed candidate has emerged to challenge him; "Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega says he intends to stand but it is unclear whether he can even garner the five letters of support to get on the ballot paper."