UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has ruled out replacing Gianni Infantino as Fifa president but believes the Swiss could face a rival at next year’s election.
Infantino’s position has come under growing pressure following the collapse of plans to sell a stake in Fifa’s commercial operations to private investors.
Uefa was among the organisations to oppose the proposal and has since said it no longer has confidence in Infantino’s leadership.
Ceferin had been mentioned as a possible alternative, but the 57-year-old insists he has no interest in taking over the role.
“I’m not interested because of two reasons,” Ceferin said on the Rest is Politics podcast.
“One reason is that I love Uefa and I love working here, and I think that at a certain point, it’s time to also enjoy life a bit.
“The second point is that my credibility is much, much higher if I’m not interested in the position.”
Instead, Ceferin expects one of two things to happen before the Fifa Congress in March 2027.
He believes Infantino could decide to step aside if he concludes that he no longer has enough support across football, or he could remain in the race and face an opponent.
“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,” 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.”
Infantino position remains at risk
Infantino has already seen several national associations withdraw their backing following the dispute over his proposed commercial restructuring.
The plan would have seen Fifa create a new company, Fifa Forward Enterprise, to oversee the commercial and ticketing rights for its competitions, with a 21% stake offered to a private investment group.
The proposal was eventually abandoned after widespread opposition.
Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation subsequently accused Infantino of breaking trust “through deception”, while all four British and Irish associations have withdrawn their support.
Infantino still has backing from South America’s Conmebol and the African confederation Caf, leaving the balance of power ahead of the election uncertain.
The 56-year-old has spent much of August attempting to shore up support, including meetings with Caribbean football officials in the Dominican Republic.
He was also present at the E-Sports World Cup in Paris, where he met several high-profile figures including French president Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo.
