UEFA Vice President Laura McAllister said on Wednesday that the federation is still on its way to finding a credible candidate to compete with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and has not allowed his campaign for change to turn into mere wishful thinking.
McAllister explained that the candidate for next March's elections does not necessarily have to be European, but he must be able to defeat Infantino, unify the continental federations, and achieve sustainable administrative reforms.
Speaking to Reuters during the World Football Summit in Madrid following the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Thessaloniki, she rejected claims that the opposition to Infantino had lost momentum, although the FIFA president appeared to still have enough support to win another term.
She explained that UEFA's efforts do not aim to install a symbolic European figure to lead a rebellion, but rather to mobilize support for a candidate with a clear reform program.
Asked whether Infantino's opponents had exaggerated the extent of the damage to his authority, McAllister said: "I don't think so." We always knew that things would not change overnight. That would be naive. We also knew, of course, that there would be resistance to change. We are dealing with matters step by step, both from a legal standpoint - in light of the political context regarding an alternative candidate - and in terms of the program of governance reforms that we need to see.”
Italian-Swiss Infantino (56 years old) faced the biggest challenge to his presidency after the failure of his proposal to sell a share of up to 20 percent of the experimental rights to FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup, to private investors.
This proposal sparked strong opposition, as UEFA, the Asian Confederation, and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) were among those calling for a change in FIFA's leadership. Since then, several European national federations have withdrawn their support for Infantino's re-election, the latest of which was Greece on Tuesday.
McAllister said that UEFA countries remained “very united and united” in their determination to change the way FIFA is run, but stressed that the dispute goes beyond Infantino’s personality.
“It was always about more than one person,” she said.
McAllister explained that UEFA was working quietly on several fronts, and considered the reform program more important than the identity or nationality of the final candidate.
“Any campaign aimed at bringing about change includes multiple aspects and paths,” she said. There are tactics that must be followed, but I feel very confident that we are on the right path, and we will strive to find a candidate capable of uniting all the continental federations, because it is not limited to UEFA alone; All continental federations strongly believe in the need for change.
“This candidate will then run on the basis of an electoral program based on reform and modernization.”
Infantino announced that he will seek another term in the elections scheduled for March. McAllister said his opponents must find a candidate capable of doing more than just mounting a symbolic challenge.
She explained, “If you are in a situation where you know that the current president will run again, and Gianni Infantino has made it clear that he will be a candidate in the elections unless something changes before next March, then it is the responsibility of those who oppose him to find the appropriate candidate.” “Do not run in elections unless you are able to win them.”
McAllister said that UEFA would not insist on a European candidate if a credible reformist candidate emerged from another continental confederation.
She added, “It is about a program of change, and I believe that we must succeed in that first.” "We have to have a really clear model of what good governance in global football looks like, and that's not what we've seen from FIFA over the last few years."
McAllister said the reform program must include greater accountability, transparency, proper recognition of conflicts of interest, stronger protections for whistleblowers and greater diversity in leadership.
In response to a question about whether UEFA would maintain a working relationship with Infantino if he were re-elected, McAllister said that European football would remain an influential force in the world of the game but that FIFA’s leadership must learn from what happened.
In response to a question about what Infantino must do to regain UEFA’s confidence, she said: “This is not our problem as much as it is his problem.” If he is re-elected, we hope that he will have learned the lessons learned from that period, which the football world considered a real existential crisis.”
McAllister said that UEFA will focus on calling for reform rather than looking far before opening the door to nominations for the elections.
She added, "Our priority now must be to convince the football world that the game belongs to them, but we need a cultural change in the way the game is managed."
Benfica won 2-0 over host Milan at the San Siro, while Sunderland, who are participating for the first time, beat AZ Alkmaar and Olympique Lyonnais beat Anderlecht in Brussels in the opening round of the Europa League on Wednesday.
Benfica took the lead in the 16th minute when Belgian Dodi Lukebakio found space on the edge of the penalty area and shot a low ball into the far corner.
The Portuguese team doubled their lead eight minutes after the start of the second half, when Jakub Kaminski fired a wonderful direct shot from about 15 yards into the net, giving Benfica a well-deserved victory.
Enzo Lu scored Sunderland's first ever goal in the Europa League from a penalty kick in the 66th minute, leading his team to victory over Alkmaar at the Stadium of Light.
Le Vi had won the penalty kick after being fouled by Wesley Batati while trying to shoot.
Sunderland suffered in the face of several dangerous opportunities for Alkmaar, but in the end they emerged victorious.
An own goal scored by Cvet Ceclar and a goal from Facundo Medina helped Bayer Leverkusen achieve a comfortable 2-0 victory over its Slovenian guest, Chelé.
Seşlar tried to clear a cross, but he accidentally turned the ball into his own net, despite the visiting team's good start.
Noah Nartey and Keto Nakamura scored Olympique Lyonnais' goals in the first half, leading the French team to a 2-1 victory over Anderlecht.
Mihailo Cvetkovic reduced the deficit for the home team in the middle of the second half, but the Belgian team failed to equalize despite the many opportunities it had.
Armando Gonzalez and Roman Yaremchuk scored the goals of Greek Olympiacos, which came from behind to win 2-1 over Polish Jagiellonia.
Kaitan Schmidt opened the scoring for the visiting team.
Hapoel Beer Sheva and Dinamo Zagreb tied 0-0 in a neutral stadium in Bucharest, and the French Stade Rennes match away to Austria's Sturm Graz ended in a scoreless draw.
Juri Balkovic scored the winning goal for Omonia Nicosia in the 88th minute with a shot from long range that passed goalkeeper Ionut Radu at the near post, giving his team a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo.
Tobias Goodall scored two goals in the first half to lead Sparta Prague to a huge 4-1 win away to Ararat of Armenia.
