While Infantino campaigns, UEFA deliberates on a counter‑candidate
While Gianni Infantino in Cape Verde is surrounded by the 54 African federations, dozens of journalists stand on the wide marble staircase with cast‑iron railings of the Ritz‑Carlton lobby in Berlin, near Potsdamer Platz, and wait for the outcome of a crucial UEFA meeting.
UEFA meeting in Berlin
The senior representatives of the 55 national football associations of Europe have come to the German capital to determine a strategy in the fight against FIFA president Gianni Infantino. After an hour‑long meeting, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin silently walks down the stairs, looks at paperwork in a corner of the lobby and gives no statement to the waiting reporters.
It is clear that UEFA has not yet found an opponent for Infantino for the presidential election, where candidates must be nominated before 18 November. The UEFA plan, presented on Thursday, aims at a thorough reform of FIFA: curbing the power of the president, better separating powers and achieving more transparency.
Infantino’s campaign in Cape Verde
Simultaneously with the Berlin gathering, footage emerges from Cape Verde, where Infantino is surrounded by the officials of the 54 African federations who applaud his candidacy. “That this is happening now is no coincidence,” says UEFA executive Theodore Theodoridis, who a decade ago was Infantino’s campaign manager.
The Norwegian association president Lise Klaveness emphasizes that UEFA should not let four candidates compete, but should find a single candidate with broad support. She does not see herself as a possible candidate because she is “not in the right position” and “does not have enough support.”
Search for a European opponent candidate
The Swiss former professional footballer Ramon Vega has recently entered the race, but according to European officials he will probably not gather enough signatures to make his candidacy official. Laura McAllister, UEFA vice‑chair, states that there are “many good leaders” who meet the profile, but that the opponent candidate must be honest and willing to reform.
Previously the Canadian Victor Montagliani and the Qatari Nasser bin Ghanim Al‑Khelaïfi were mentioned as possible candidates, but they do not seem to have the ambition to take on Infantino. Secretary‑general Gijs de Jong of the KNVB believes there is still plenty of time to find an opponent candidate, also thanks to an informal dinner that has yet to take place.
Theodoridis admits that he has not yet hung a map in UEFA’s campaign headquarters, but adds that there is “still plenty of time” and that he is “looking forward to it.” The contrasts between Infantino’s African campaign and UEFA’s withdrawn deliberations in Berlin underline the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming FIFA presidential election.