The chances of Swiss Gianni Infantino, President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), to win a fourth term have been strengthened, after Canadian Victor Montagliani, President of the Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), decided not to run in the upcoming presidential elections, preferring to continue in his continental position, in a move that represents a blow to the efforts of the European Football Association (UEFA) aimed at bringing about a change in the leadership of the international institution.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Montagliani, who is 61 years old, informed his colleagues of his intention to run for a final term as head of CONCACAF, after he was seen as one of the most prominent potential candidates to compete with Infantino, against the backdrop of the controversy raised by the FIFA president’s plan to sell investment stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
The plan faced widespread opposition at the international level, which prompted Infantino to withdraw from it, amid escalating disputes with the European Union regarding the management of world football and the powers of the President of the International Federation.
Although Montagliani did not officially announce at any stage his intention to compete with Infantino, his decision to continue leading CONCACAF means his exclusion from the calculations of the elections scheduled for next March, during which the current president, who is 56 years old, is seeking to obtain a fourth term.
The European Union, which is leading the opposition against Infantino, must search for a figure capable of unifying international positions before November 18, which is the deadline for submitting nominations for the presidential elections.
In a parallel development, Slovenian Alexander Ceferin, President of the European Football Association, announced his intention to run for a fourth term in office, retracting a previous position in which he declared his unwillingness to continue after the end of his current term.
Ceferin informed the heads of the 55 European national federations of his decision during a meeting held in the German capital, Berlin, at a time when the institutional confrontation between UEFA and FIFA is escalating.
Ceferin, who is 58 years old, announced in February 2024 that he would not seek a new term, during a period that witnessed controversy over amending the statute of the European Union to allow him to continue for a fourth term, despite holding the presidency since 2016.
However, recent developments, especially European moves aimed at changing the leadership of the International Federation, have increased expectations that it will retract that decision.
Ceferin said: I would like to thank the national federations for their trust. We have faced exceptional challenges over the past years, and we dealt with them as one team. We still have important work to do, so I accepted her request.
He added: My ambition has not changed, which is to preserve the unity of European football, make our game stronger, and leave the European Union prepared for the next generation.
Ceferin ruled out running in the elections against Infantino himself, stressing his commitment to working to find a candidate who enjoys broad consensus between the continental and national federations before the election date.
In the same context, the European Union revealed a plan that includes 14 items to reform FIFA, which was approved by 54 national federations out of 55, while Azerbaijan was the only exception.
The plan aims to restructure the governance system within FIFA, reduce some of the direct powers of the President of the International Federation, and enhance the independence of the supervisory, disciplinary and ethical bodies.
These proposals came against the backdrop of the controversy that accompanied the preparation of the “FIFA Forward Enterprise” project, which is linked to offering investment stakes in the World Cup, and which was developed away from the broad institutional debate before Infantino withdrew from it under pressure from the opposition.
The European Union stressed the need to prevent any interference by the president or executive officials in the work of the bodies charged with overseeing ethical and disciplinary issues, in addition to ensuring that the International Federation’s resources are not used to serve personal interests or electoral campaigns.
The plan also included a demand to provide additional funding of no less than ten million dollars to each of the 211 national federations that are members of FIFA.
The European Union stressed that institutional reform alone will not be sufficient to address the challenges facing global football, stressing the need to change the current leadership.
His position stated: FIFA also needs a new leadership, represented by a respected figure who is able to unite the parties, who has deep roots in football, a vision and experience that qualifies him for leadership, the ability to gain trust between different regions, and a clear commitment to development, reform, integrity and independence.
So far, no confirmed candidate has emerged capable of competing with Infantino in the upcoming elections, despite Ramon Vega, the former defender of English Tottenham and the Swiss national team, announcing his intention to run.
Vega's ability to enter the race remains undecided, as it is not clear whether he can obtain the five letters of support required from national federations to officially approve his candidacy.
Montagliani's withdrawal puts the European opposition in front of a time challenge, as there are only weeks left until the closing of nominations, while Infantino continues his preparations to run in the elections in pursuit of a new term, amid a growing division over the future of global football management.
