RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesAleksander Ceferin delivered his masterstroke as UEFA president almost at the end of his roughly 10-year tenure although he would probably have preferred not to have had to do it.
Within 48 hours, the lawyer from Slovenia organized Europe's united resistance against a billion-dollar World Cup investor plan with which Gianni Infantino and FIFA stunned the football world this week.
Outrage, mockery, sports-political explosion
Ceferin's UEFA torpedoed the world governing body's business conduct in three acts.
Part one: outrage. “This crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross.” Part two: mockery. “That says everything you need to know about this plan,” UEFA said regarding the reported September 19 FIFA deadline for members.
Part three on Thursday amounted to nothing less than an open break with FIFA and a sports-political explosion that has already secured its place in football history books.
Ceferin rallied all 55 member associations — including the German Football Federation (DFB), men's and women's world champions Spain and the initially dissenting Czechs — behind him and is threatening FIFA with a boycott of all competitions organized by the world governing body. Effective immediately.
Ceferin as the countermodel to Infantino
"As a result of today’s discussion, no UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership," UEFA announced. The statement leaves no room for interpretation.
As in part one (outrage) and part two (mockery), Ceferin is not directly quoted, and he is not even mentioned by name in the statement. Yet the 58-year-old is once again the one leading the resistance.
It was the same with Infantino's failed billion-dollar Club World Cup plans in 2018 and the Super League conceived and prepared by top clubs in 2021, which Ceferin and UEFA spectacularly derailed.
“The DFB has complete confidence in his actions and in him as a person,” DFB president Bernd Neuendorf once said about Ceferin, who has led UEFA since 2016 and does not plan to run for another term next year.
In many respects, Ceferin is the opposite of Infantino. For example, he does not maintain his own social media channels.
UEFA displays an unprecedented level of unity
With its open threat to FIFA, he could ensure not only that the investor project promising more money for everyone, greater influence for the United States, and a permanent leadership role for Infantino collapses.
He could also cause his arch-rival Infantino to stumble over his own plan and be forced to relinquish his power much sooner than expected.
Because Ceferin, who studied law and was formerly an active karate fighter, and his UEFA have not only slammed the door on investors at FIFA but effectively bolted it shut.
The fact that all 55 European nations are demanding “binding assurances” within such a short time that FIFA's leadership must “never again open its governance and competitions to private ownership” is an unprecedented display of unity. And it has been orchestrated by Ceferin.
He has been at odds with Infantino for quite some time. Ceferin was not present for the World Cup final just under two weeks ago in East Rutherford even though UEFA representative Spain was playing against Argentina.
Boycott to be tested as early as September
The absence of the European football chief could certainly be interpreted as a signal following the affair involving Folarin Balogun.
The US striker had his red-card suspension for the round of 16 lifted at the World Cup after US President Donald Trump called Infantino. Even then, UEFA said that “a red line had been crossed” and that the integrity of the game was being put to the test.
There were no tangible consequences during the tournament itself but this time is different.
The under-20 women's World Cup is scheduled to take place in Poland in September, and play-off matches for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil are set for October.
If Infantino and FIFA do not abandon the investor plan before the September 19 deadline, the UEFA threat is likely to be followed by major chaos in world football.
Following the unprecedented show of unity by UEFA's members, Ceferin can now sit back and calmly watch how FIFA responds. Because the moment Infantino falls due to the open break with the Europeans, there is only one logical candidate to succeed him: Aleksander Ceferin.
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