UEFA Pushes For Unity Candidate to Challenge Infantino

Photo Credit: FIFA President Gianni Infantino (AP Photo) / Punch Newspapers
UEFA Pushes For Unity Candidate to Challenge Infantino
European football’s governing body, UEFA, is working with its member associations to find a credible unity candidate to challenge FIFA President Gianni Infantino in next year’s election.

The move follows a major crisis of confidence in Infantino’s leadership after his aborted plan to sell commercial stakes in FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup, to private investors.

Denmark’s football association (DBU), which has openly withdrawn support for Infantino, said on Friday that it had lost confidence in the FIFA boss and would not back him at the 77th FIFA Congress scheduled for Rabat, Morocco on March 18, 2027.

In a statement, the DBU said it will work with UEFA and international colleagues to ensure member associations “have a real choice and a credible alternative that can unite FIFA across confederations and rebuild the trust that has been broken.”

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has ruled himself out of the race, saying he loves working at UEFA and that his credibility is higher if he is not interested in the position. However, Ceferin said Infantino will likely face a challenger if he seeks re-election.

“There are two options. One option is that he realises that he doesn’t have the support… 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,” Ceferin said.

Infantino, who is seeking a fourth term until 2031, is under pressure from three confederations — UEFA, Asia’s AFC and CONCACAF — to resign, though he still retains the backing of the African confederation (CAF). The deadline for nominations is November 18, and no formal challenger has emerged yet.
Source: Punch Newspapers