The prospects for Gianni Infantino’s re-election as head of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) have risen following the confirmation that Victor Montagliani will not stand against him. Montagliani, 61, will instead remain at the head of Concaf, the governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, according to sources who stated that he told colleagues he would stand for a final term in that role.
Montagliani had been widely considered a potential candidate following global backlash against Infant’s plan to sell shares in the World Cup to private investors. However, he had not previously confirmed he would challenge Infant, and it is now clear he will not stand in the way of the 56-year-old, who has confirmed he will stand for a fourth term in the March elections.
The rebellion against Infant is being led by UEFA, which must now find a joint candidate by the 18 November deadline. Aleksander Ceferin, 58, the president of UEFA, will stand for a fourth term as head of the continental federation, having announced this to delegates at a meeting of the 55 national associations in Berlin. This reverses his statement in February 2024 that he would not stand for re-election, although he had previously been involved in a dispute over changes to the UEFA statute that allowed for a fourth term. Ceferin was originally elected in 2016.
"I would like to thank the national associations for their trust. We have faced extraordinary challenges in recent years and have faced them as one team. There is still important work to do, which is why I have accepted the request," said Ceferin. "My ambition remains the same: to keep European football united, to make our game stronger, and to leave UEFA ready for the next generation."
Ceferin ruled out the possibility of standing against Infant, but is committed to finding a candidate around whom the football world could unite in the March elections for the FIFA presidency. UEFA and its 54 national associations, with the exception of Azerbaijan, agreed on a clear direction for reform at the meeting. UEFA reiterated its opposition to Infant by publishing a 14-point plan for the reform of the world governing body.
The plan revolves around institutional governance and removes some direct powers from the president, leading to the creation of the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise behind closed doors. UEFA added that the president’s or executive’s involvement must be removed from the supervisory bodies covering ethical and disciplinary matters, that no resources of the federation should be used for personal or electoral purposes, and that each of the 211 member associations should be provided with at least 10 million dollars in additional funds.
Infantino stepped down from his plan to sell shares following widespread opposition. As yet, no confirmed candidate has emerged to challenge him in March, other than former Tottenham and Swiss international Ramon Vega, who stated he intends to stand. It is not clear whether Vega will be able to gather the five letters of support required to enter the ballot box.
