Ceferin rules out FIFA leadership bid, says Infantino could face rival in March election

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said on The Rest Is Politics: Leading podcast on August 24, 2026 that he will not challenge Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency, but added the incumbent could face an opponent when the election takes place in March next year. His remarks came amid an ongoing dispute over the future direction and governance of world football.

Ceferin said he had no interest in succeeding Infantino and set out two possible courses for the FIFA president. "There are two options," Ceferin told The Rest Is Politics: Leading podcast. "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 football community, the political support of fans, the political support of the players, former players, coaches." "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."

Ceferin rejected the suggestion that UEFA's opposition to Infantino is driven solely by Europe's biggest associations and pointed to smaller federations that, he said, had also turned down FIFA's controversial commercial proposal. He also argued the controversy surrounding Infantino went beyond the officials who will cast their votes.

Infantino has presented himself as a defender of football associations outside the game's wealthiest nations, a stance he reiterated after meeting members of the Caribbean Football Union in the Dominican Republic. "We want to grow football in every one of our 211 countries in the world," Infantino said. "We need to find investments for all the others, opportunities for all the others. This is about, indeed, finding and giving opportunities, access, and resources to world football."

The FIFA president said some powerful associations did not want smaller nations to close the financial gap and insisted expanding opportunities would remain central to FIFA's work. He added that he had received a warm welcome in the Dominican Republic, despite CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani having asked him not to attend the under-14 tournament there.

The dispute escalated after Infantino's proposal to create a commercial entity to manage FIFA tournament rights and sell a 20% stake to private investors was abandoned. UEFA, alongside the AFC and CONCACAF, emerged as leading opponents to the plan, and sources have indicated that a vote of no confidence could be considered before the election.

Ceferin compared the abandoned commercial plan unfavourably with UEFA's battle against the European Super League and said it posed a greater threat to football's structure. "Someone should remind him that he is a European, and that he was supported by UEFA, which he forgot," Ceferin said.

Infantino has secured backing from the African and South American confederations and has increasingly appealed directly to individual national associations during the dispute. The FIFA election is scheduled for March next year, with Infantino showing no indication that he intends to step aside.