Infantino Must Remember He Is European, Says Ceferin
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Infantino's World Cup Stake Plan: "Worse than the Super League"
By Alex Brotherton, BBC Sport journalist
Published 6 hours ago
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin believes Gianni Infantino needs to remember his European roots after criticizing the Fifa chief's abandoned plan to sell a stake in the World Cup.
Earlier this month, Fifa scrapped Infantino's proposal to create the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would have managed commercial and ticketing rights for all Fifa competitions, with 21% up for sale to private investors.
Uefa led opposition to the move, leading to a boycott of World Cups by its members until the plan was scrapped. European football's governing body has since expressed a lack of confidence in Infantino, while all home nation football associations have withdrawn support for him.
"I think this plan is even worse than the Super League plan," Ceferin told Rest is Politics podcast.
"Super important clubs wanted to do their own league, which is wrong, and would destroy football. But in this case, football would be literally sold. I'm absolutely sure that the plan is dead."
The European Super League, a proposed breakaway competition of 20 top European clubs, fell apart days after its announcement in April 2021 due to widespread criticism.
Ceferin revealed he found out about Infantino's plan through media while on holiday with his family and claimed Uefa had no prior knowledge.
"He didn't contact me since this happened," Ceferin said. "They play on, you know, '[how] arrogant Europe is against us: They have enough money, but I help the small and the poor'. But I think someone should remind him that he is a European, and that he was supported by Uefa, which he forgot."
Infantino, who worked at Uefa for 16 years as general secretary for nine, has been traveling worldwide to gain public support. Over the weekend, he met Caribbean Football Union members in the Dominican Republic and attended the E-Sports World Cup in Paris, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ceferin on Not Running for Fifa President
Ceferin confirmed he will not stand for Fifa president at the 2027 Fifa Congress when Infantino seeks a fourth term.
"I'm not interested because of two reasons. One reason is that I love Uefa and I love working here, and I think that at a certain point it's time also to enjoy life a bit," Ceferin said. "And the second point is, my credibility is much, much..."