Ceferin says Infantino would face challenger in FIFA election after World Cup stake plan

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has warned that Gianni Infantino would face a challenger if he seeks another term as FIFA president, escalating a dispute over a shelved proposal to bring private investors into the World Cup.

Ceferin said the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan, which was abandoned in early August 2026 after broad opposition, posed an even greater threat to football than the failed European Super League project. He argued that selling stakes in the World Cup would amount to selling a competition that belongs to the wider football community.

UEFA has led resistance to the proposal and is pressing for Infantino to leave office. The European governing body has also retained the possibility of boycotting FIFA competitions while discussions continue with the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football about a combined Nations League tournament.

Infantino’s position will be tested if he runs in the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March 2027. Ceferin said an opponent would emerge, although no candidate has been confirmed. Concacaf president Victor Montagliani has been mentioned as a possible contender, while Ceferin ruled out seeking the FIFA presidency himself.

The dispute has widened beyond UEFA. Six Nordic football associations said they had lost confidence in Infantino and requested binding guarantees that FIFA would not expose its governance or competitions to private ownership. They also called for an independent review of the abandoned investment plan. Norway’s football federation had already called for Infantino to resign.

Ceferin also said he had not spoken with Infantino since the controversy began. The disagreement leaves world football facing a potentially contested leadership election and a broader debate about who should control the commercial rights and governance of its leading competitions.