UEFA chief rules out FIFA presidency bid, demands Infantino resign

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has declared he will not seek the FIFA presidency but warned Gianni Infantino that he must either resign or face a challenger when elections take place in Rabat, Morocco, next March. The comments, made in an interview with "The Rest is Politics: Leading" podcast set to air Monday, represent the most direct public challenge yet to Infantino's decade-long hold on world football's top office.thehill

"I'm not interested because of two reasons," Ceferin said. "One reason is that I love UEFA and I love working here. And the second point is, my credibility is much, much higher if I'm not interested in the position."thehill

'Worse Than the Super League'

Ceferin reserved his harshest criticism for Infantino's now-collapsed proposal to sell a 20 percent stake in a new FIFA commercial subsidiary — which would have managed all of FIFA's revenue-generating activities including its tournaments — to a consortium of private investors led by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner. The 58-year-old Slovenian called the initiative "even worse than the Super League proposal," referring to the failed 2021 breakaway attempt by twelve elite European clubs.nytimes

"In this case, football would be effectively sold off," Ceferin said. "I am confident that the plan is finished, but the situation has escalated too far."nytimes

Three regional confederations — UEFA, Asia's AFC, and CONCACAF — have called for Infantino's resignation and are discussing whether to move a vote of no confidence ahead of the March ballot, according to Reuters. FIFA has set a November 18 deadline for challengers to nominate.reuters+1

Infantino Pushes Back

Infantino showed no sign of yielding. In a video released Sunday after meeting members of the Caribbean Football Union in the Dominican Republic, the FIFA president framed the dispute as wealthy federations resisting redistribution. "Some, unfortunately, don't need and they don't want that others grow, but we need to narrow this gap between the big, big countries and all the others," he said.reuters

His visit came despite CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani asking Infantino to stay away from the under-14 Challenge Series event, saying his presence would overshadow the tournament.reuters

Rival Competition Talks Emerge

Separately, UEFA and CONCACAF have begun early-stage discussions over creating a joint Nations League that would combine their existing competition structures, with a potential 2028 launch, according to The Guardian as reported by Off The Pitch. The proposed biennial tournament would feature competitive matches between European and CONCACAF nations — a move that could further isolate FIFA if the political standoff continues.offthepitch