London. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has said he will not run against FIFA President Gianni Infantino but warned the head of world football that he must either resign or face a leadership challenge in March. This was reported by infohub.kz.
Infantino has come under increasing pressure over his plan, now aborted, to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, which caused a major uproar in the football world. Three continental confederations accused him of "deception," and UEFA threatened a boycott of FIFA competitions.
"One option is that he realizes 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 in an interview with the British podcast "The Rest is Politics: Leading," which is set to be broadcast on Monday.
"And the second option is 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," he added.
Ceferin's comments were in excerpts from the podcast that were published on Sunday in the British media.
November deadline. Infantino has been FIFA president since 2016, and until the backlash over his proposals, he seemed sure to be reelected unopposed next year in Morocco. FIFA has set a Nov. 18 deadline for challengers to nominate.
Ceferin, 58, who has been widely seen as a potential challenger to Infantino, expressed his commitment to UEFA.
"I'm not interested because of two reasons. 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. And the second point is, my credibility is much, much higher if I'm not interested in the position," Ceferin said on the podcast.