He says he doesn't want the top job himself, but Aleksander Ceferin has just delivered his bluntest warning yet to Gianni Infantino — step aside or prepare to be challenged.

European football boss Aleksander Ceferin has told FIFA president Gianni Infantino to quit or risk a full-blown leadership fight, even as he insists he has no interest in taking the job himself.

Speaking on The Rest is Politics podcast on Monday, the 58-year-old Slovenian, who heads UEFA, was characteristically frank about the crisis engulfing world football.

According to a report by cbinews.tv, Ceferin said he is ruling himself out for two very clear 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,” he said.

“And the second point is, my credibility is much, much higher if I’m not interested in the position.”

It comes after Infantino faced fierce backlash over his controversial and now-abandoned plan to seek private investment in a company to run FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup.

UEFA has threatened to boycott FIFA competitions over the proposal, with several continental and national federations also pulling their support for the 56-year-old Swiss.

Ceferin, who revealed to cbinews.tv that he has not spoken to Infantino since the row erupted, believes his former ally’s once unassailable position is now crumbling.

Infantino, a former UEFA secretary-general himself, had the backing of most European nations when he succeeded Sepp Blatter in 2016. That is no longer the case.

“There are two options,” Ceferin explained. “One option is that he realises 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 the football community, the political support of fans, the political support of the players, former players, coaches.”

“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. I don’t know yet who.”

UEFA has already been backed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF, which oversees North and Central America and the Caribbean. Their presidents, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and Victor Montagliani, are being tipped as the most likely challengers.

Meanwhile, Infantino has been shoring up support elsewhere. As reported by cbinews.tv, he was in the Dominican Republic at the weekend for meetings with local and regional officials, despite reports that Montagliani had asked him to stay away from a youth tournament there.

In a video released by FIFA on Sunday, Infantino appeared to address the storm around him.

“It’s important to engage, to have a dialogue, to express views and opinions,” he said. “A lot has been happening the last few weeks, and it’s important that you hear, you listen, and you’re able to also express what your feelings are. So I think overall positive, very, very happy with all the support I get here.”

FIFA is yet to respond to requests for comment on Ceferin’s remarks.

Infantino has shown no sign of walking away from a role he has held since 2016. He is now pitching himself as the champion of poorer football nations and is counting on the support of the African and South American blocs to secure re-election until 2031 at the next FIFA Congress in Morocco in March.

Whether that will be enough remains to be seen.

Source: cbinews.tv

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