At the General Assembly of the European Football Clubs, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin once again launched a scathing attack on FIFA boss Gianni Infantino. Meanwhile, EFC chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi urged Ceferin to stand for re-election.
At Tuesday’s General Assembly of the powerful European club association, the European Football Clubs (EFC, formerly the European Club Association, ECA), the focus was once again on the top positions at FIFA and UEFA. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, who was present, once again levelled harsh criticism at FIFA President Gianni Infantino in his speech – without mentioning him by name.
“How often would something like this have to happen at your clubs before the Executive Committee says: ‘Enough is enough?’”, Ceferin asked the club bosses present on Tuesday, referring to the recently failed World Cup investor project, the awarding of the FIFA Peace Prize to US President Trump, and the Balogun case during the World Cup this summer. “It is time to say ‘enough’. No politics and no amount of power, however great, gives anyone the right to sell off football.”
The Slovenian drew a comparison with the fairy tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen – fittingly, given that the General Assembly was being held in Copenhagen. In the story, Ceferin explained, the emperor is “convinced that he is wearing magnificent clothes – clothes, he is told, that only the foolish or the incompetent cannot see”. “His court plays along with the charade. Until, finally, a child simply says out loud what everyone can see: the emperor is naked. Perhaps the moral of the story is this: comforting words cannot change uncomfortable realities.” He also emphasised: “Football does not need emperors.”
Referring to Infantino’s “hybrid election campaign” of recent days, during which the Swiss official had signalled a willingness to reform and held out the prospect of further funding for member associations, Ceferin said: “World football has recently heard some very uncomfortable words. Development, democratisation, consultation – words that have in fact been used to describe the exact opposite.”
UEFA is preparing to file a criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland for criminal mismanagement in connection with the investor plan. FIFA had consequently accused UEFA of attempting to influence the FIFA presidential election. Infantino intends to stand for re-election as FIFA President in March 2027.
Al-Khelaifi asks Ceferin to stand for re-election as UEFA President
A month later, on 22 April, a new UEFA President will also be elected in Astana. Ceferin had actually announced in 2024 that he did not intend to stand for re-election. Recently, however, the prevailing expectation has been that the Slovenian will stand for a fourth term after all. In his speech on Tuesday, EFC President Nasser Al-Khelaifi urged Ceferin to stand for re-election.
“Football needs great leaders like you,” said Al-Khelaifi, who is also president of PSG, praising the 58-year-old. “On behalf of the more than 900 clubs in the EFC, we ask you to stand for re-election as president next year.” He knew “that you’re fed up with my daily calls and messages about all our concerns as clubs”, said Al-Khelaifi, addressing Ceferin, and joked: “I ring you more often than your wife does.”
During the EFC General Assembly, Al-Khelaifi was also asked whether he would be willing to stand against Infantino in the election for the new FIFA President. However, according to the AP news agency, the PSG boss declined – as did Ceferin, incidentally: “I have zero interest in FIFA and no agenda or ambitions to be there,” said Al-Khelaifi. “I don’t think I’m the right person for the job, nor do I want to be. I enjoy what I do.”