Aleksander Ceferin, president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), said he will not run for the presidency of FIFA but called on Gianni Infantino to resign.
Ceferin said that if Infantino refuses to step down, he will face a challenge to his leadership in the FIFA presidential election in March.
Infantino has come under pressure since unveiling a plan to let private capital into the commercial rights of international football competitions through a new company called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
Ceferin said one option was for Infantino to recognise that he lacks support, not only among the federations that vote in FIFA elections, but also within the wider football community, including fans, players, former players and coaches. He said the second option was for Infantino to stand in the March election, in which case Ceferin believed he would face a rival candidate, though he said he did not yet know who that would be.
Ceferin made the comments in an interview with the British podcast The Rest Is Politics: Leading, due to be broadcast on Monday, with excerpts published on Sunday by British media.
FIFA presidential election
Infantino, FIFA president since 2016, is currently the only declared candidate for the role. The deadline for nominations is November 18, with the election due to take place in March 2027 in Morocco.
Although widely seen as a potential rival to Infantino, Ceferin, 58, said he remained committed to UEFA. He said he was not interested in the FIFA job for two reasons: he loves UEFA and working there, and he believes that at some point it will also be time to enjoy life a little more. He added that his credibility was far greater precisely because he was not interested in the position.
Wales and Scotland withdraw support
On Wednesday, Noel Mooney, chief executive of the Football Association of Wales, publicly called for Infantino's resignation. Wales became the first UEFA member nation to withdraw its support for Infantino, doing so earlier this month. Scotland had already withdrawn its backing for his re-election in early August.
The FFE plan and a Kushner link
The FFE project envisaged raising up to $4.2 billion (3.64 billion euros) by selling a minority stake of up to 20% to private investors. Among the potential investors named was Thrive Eternal, a fund founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump.
The football confederations of Europe, Asia and North, Central America and the Caribbean, UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF, accused the FIFA president of abandoning his duty by placing himself "above the collective that entrusted him with authority."
