UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has ruled out standing as a candidate to replace Gianni Infantino as FIFA president, saying he loves running European football's governing body and wants to keep working there.
Ceferin gave two reasons for staying out of the race during an interview on the podcast The Rest Is Politics. He said he was not interested partly because he loves UEFA and loves working there, adding that at some point it is also time to enjoy life a little, in comments referring to his eventual retirement.
His second reason, he said, was that his credibility is far greater if he is not interested in the job himself.
Opposition to Infantino
Ceferin, 58, has led opposition to Infantino since the FIFA president revealed controversial plans to privatise the FIFA World Cup. He said in the interview that things change every day, and admitted he has not spoken to Infantino since the controversy began.
He said different debates come up every day and that he had not talked to Infantino, but that there were two possible outcomes. One, he said, is that Infantino realises he does not have support, and he stressed that this means not just the political support of those who vote, but the backing of the football community, including fans, players, former players and coaches.
The other option, Ceferin said, is that Infantino runs in the March elections, in which case he believes Infantino will face a challenger, though he said he does not yet know who that might be.
Criticism of FIFA's stance
Ceferin also criticised what he described as FIFA's framing of the dispute. He said what he hears from FIFA is a message that arrogant Europe is against them.
He said FIFA has money to spare, while he helps smaller and poorer federations and similar causes. Ceferin added that he believes someone should remind Infantino that he is European and that he had UEFA's support, something he said Infantino has forgotten.
Background
Ceferin has been UEFA president since 2016 and has overseen European football's governing body through disputes including the breakaway European Super League project. Infantino has led FIFA, the global governing body for football, since 2016 and is seeking re-election at FIFA's congress in March.
