Aleksander Čeferin has confirmed he will run again for UEFA President next year, but will his recent criticisms of Gianni Infantino come back to haunt him?
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has confirmed he will stand for a fourth and final term as President at the election in April 2027.
Čeferin announced during a UEFA meeting in Berlin to all 55 national associations he will stand for re-election after ruling out the possibility of standing for FIFA President in the next re-election in March 2027.
“I want to thank the national associations for their trust. We have faced extraordinary challenges over the past years, and we have faced them as one team,” said Čeferin at the meeting.
“There is still important work ahead, and I have therefore accepted their request. My ambition remains the same: to keep European football united, make our game stronger and leave UEFA ready for the next generation.”
Čeferin’s Presidential u-turn, and now return
If re-elected in April 2027, this would be a fourth term as UEFA President for Čeferin, which would be unprecedented.
Čeferin was lobbying to change the UEFA President statute from three to four terms in 2023. The former statute stated that a President and Executive Committee Members of UEFA could only serve 12 years in their roles.
Čeferin argued the amendment was necessary because he served his predecessor, Michel Platini‘s mandate up until 2019. He believed this should not be counted as his first three years in the role or be counted towards his 12 year stint.
Despite receiving heavy criticism from UEFA executive members, including former Manchester United Chief Executive, David Gill, the changes to the statute were green lit by members at the UEFA Congress meeting in Paris in late 2023, with 49 out of 55 voting in favour of the decision.
Despite this, Čeferin ruled out running for a fourth term as UEFA President in early 2024. His u-turn on this decision by running for President again next year is similar to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s action to change the FIFA President statute to move from three to four terms.
Speaking to Insider Sport in August, Nick McGeehan, Director at FairSquare, believes Ceferin has ‘got off the hook’ for vocally criticising Infantino, while changing the same statutes Infantino has been criticised for.
“The remarkable thing is, Ceferin has changed the statute with the intention of running for a fourth term as UEFA President,” said McGeehan to Insider Sport.
“But what he said at the time was, ‘I’m not going to run’. But I think he is going to run for UEFA President again next year.
“He is getting off the hook because he’s changed the statute so technically it is not a violation, but it is a gross violation of what a Presidential term limit is meant for, which is so people can’t rule in perpetuity and create these systems.”
Further concern from UEFA on FIFA
The recent meeting in Berlin also discussed the ongoing opposition from UEFA against Infantino.
Čeferin was one of the most vocal opponents of Infantino’s proposal to sell off equity to private equity firms for its competitions, which included the World Cup. While Infantino later scrapped plans after days of criticism and lack of support, FIFA associations and its members began to withdraw their support for Infantino.
During the UEFA meeting, UEFA national associations reiterated their loss of confidence in the leadership at FIFA, releasing the statement: “institutional reform will not, on its own, be enough”.
“FIFA also needs new leadership: a respected and unifying figure, deeply rooted in football, with the vision and experience to lead, the ability to command confidence across regions and an unequivocal commitment to development, reform, integrity and independence,” the UEFA statement remarked.
