United News of Bangladesh

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin says he has no plans to challenge FIFA President Gianni Infantino but warned that Infantino may face a rival candidate if he refuses to step down. Infantino has faced growing criticism over his now-abandoned proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors. Three of FIFA's continental confederations accused him of "deception," while UEFA threatened to boycott FIFA competitions. Speaking to the British podcast "The Rest is Politics: Leading," Ceferin said Infantino has two choices: resign or contest the FIFA presidential election in March against a challenger. One option, Ceferin said, is for Infantino to recognize that he no longer has the support of the wider football community, including fans, players, former players and coaches, in addition to those who vote in the election. "The second option is that he goes to the elections in March, but in that case, I think he will have a candidate against him," Ceferin said, adding that he did not yet know who that candidate would be. Excerpts from the interview were published by British media on Sunday. Ceferin rules out FIFA bidInfantino has led FIFA since 2016 and had appeared likely to win another term unopposed at next year's election in Morocco before the backlash over his World Cup proposal. FIFA has set Nov. 18 as the deadline for candidates to enter the race. Ceferin, 58, has long been viewed as a possible challenger but said he remains committed to UEFA and has no interest in replacing Infantino. "I'm not interested because of two reasons," Ceferin said. "One reason is that I love UEFA and I love working here." He also said he believes it is time to enjoy life more and that staying away from the FIFA presidency would strengthen his credibility. "My credibility is much, much higher if I'm not interested in the position," Ceferin said.