Aleksander Ceferin to run for fourth term as UEFA president amid fight against Infantino

Aleksander Ceferin has told the leaders of Europe's national football associations that he wants four more years as UEFA president. The Slovenian announced his intention to stand for re-election at a meeting in Berlin on Thursday, as European football's governing body also continues its campaign against FIFA and Gianni Infantino.

• Ceferin will seek a fourth term as UEFA president, with a vote at the 2026 Congress in Astana.
• A fourth term would keep the Slovenian in charge of UEFA until 2031.
• His candidacy follows changes to presidential term limits approved at the 2024 Congress in Paris.
• UEFA is still working to find a rival to Infantino before the 18 November deadline.
• Former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega is the only official challenger to Infantino so far.

How Ceferin announced his plan to stay as UEFA president

The announcement came during a gathering of European federation leaders in the German capital. Ceferin, who first became UEFA president in 2016, said he had accepted a request from the national associations to continue. The vote will be held at next year's UEFA Congress in Astana, Kazakhstan.

If delegates back him, the Slovenian's new term would run through to 2031. Speaking to the European representatives, Ceferin thanked them for their trust and made the unity of continental football the central message of his pitch.

I want to thank the national associations for their trust. We have faced extraordinary challenges over the past years and we have faced them as one team. There is still important work ahead and I have therefore accepted their request.

The UEFA president also stressed that his ambition remains to keep European football united, make the game stronger and leave the organisation ready for the next generation. He added a personal note about his family, thanking them for the understanding and support required by a decision that places great demands on them as well.

Why Ceferin can run for another term as UEFA president

Ceferin's candidacy is only possible because of the statute changes approved at the 2024 UEFA Congress in Paris. Those amendments relaxed the presidential term limits and caused considerable debate at the time.

After the reform was approved, Ceferin himself said he would not stand again and that he had decided six months earlier to step away when his third term ended in 2027. His change of course comes amid UEFA's fight with FIFA and repeated calls from several federations for him to remain at the helm.

UEFA intensifies pressure on Infantino and searches for a FIFA rival

UEFA views Ceferin's continuity as a source of stability during its confrontation with FIFA. The Slovenian has been outspoken against Infantino since July, when it emerged that the Swiss official was working on a plan to attract private investment through a company set up to manage the commercial interests of FIFA's tournaments, including the men's and women's World Cups.

UEFA made clear that it had lost confidence in Infantino over his handling of that project. In August, the European body announced it would seek to identify a credible alternative to stand against him. There had been speculation in September that the Berlin meeting could serve as the moment to unite behind a candidate, but that has not yet happened.

UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister rejected suggestions of double standards over Ceferin potentially spending 15 years at the top of European football while the organisation pushes for change at FIFA. She argued that the situation is entirely within UEFA's own clarified statutes.

I don't think double standards is how it would be characterised because obviously there's been clarification of our own statutes, and this is completely within statute. It would be crazy to look at changing the leadership of UEFA at a time when there's such global uncertainty about the future direction of football.

McAllister insisted that Europe needs strong leadership to manage the challenge to Infantino, not only his candidacy as FIFA leader but also the wider structure and governance of the world governing body. In her view, the alternative would be more turmoil in European football leadership, which would serve nobody while UEFA remains united against FIFA's direction.

Where the FIFA presidential race stands

The deadline for candidates to enter the FIFA presidential race is 18 November. UEFA sources have indicated confidence that a candidate will be identified by then to take on Infantino.

On Wednesday, former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega became the first person to officially announce his intention to challenge Infantino. The Swiss official, who has also been in office since 2016, remains a formidable opponent: he retains strong support across Africa and South America, as well as among several Middle East nations including Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa appears to have softened his stance towards Infantino in a recent letter. Salman had previously joined Ceferin and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani in calling on Infantino to step down. His new letter instead suggests creating an internal working group to examine potential FIFA governance reforms.

What a fourth Ceferin term would mean for European football

Four more years of Ceferin would consolidate UEFA's current approach: firmness towards FIFA, defence of the European competition model and a message of unity among federations. The organisation believes that changing president now would introduce an unnecessary risk during its institutional battle with Infantino.

A potential re-election until 2031 also reignites the debate about power limits in sports bodies. UEFA argues that Ceferin's situation follows a statutory clarification voted by its own members, while it simultaneously criticises Infantino's continued hold on the FIFA presidency.