Aleksander Ceferin has reversed his decision to step down as UEFA president and will seek a fourth term in charge of European football’s governing body.
Ceferin informed the presidents and senior representatives of UEFA’s 55 national associations of his decision at a meeting in Berlin on Thursday, ending months of speculation over whether he would stick to his previous pledge to leave office.
The Slovenian, who was first elected UEFA president in 2016, announced in February 2024 that he would not seek re-election when his current mandate expires.
That position had increasingly come under scrutiny after UEFA moved to amend its statutes in a way that would have allowed Ceferin to stand for another term.
His latest decision confirms the expectation that had grown around his possible U-turn.
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Ceferin now intends to contest the UEFA presidential election at the organisation’s Congress in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 22 April 2027. He has described the next mandate as his final term.
The decision also reshapes the political landscape ahead of next year’s FIFA presidential election.
Ceferin had been viewed as a possible figure around whom opposition to FIFA president Gianni Infantino could have been organised, particularly after tensions between UEFA and FIFA increased over the past year.
He has, however, ruled out standing against Infantino himself.
Instead, UEFA’s national associations have been working towards finding a candidate capable of challenging Infantino in the FIFA election, with the European governing body calling for reforms and a different direction at world football’s governing body.
The FIFA contest has become increasingly political following Infantino’s abandoned proposal to involve private investors in FIFA’s commercial competitions, a move that attracted significant opposition, particularly from Europe and North America.
Former Switzerland international Ramon Vega has since publicly declared his intention to challenge Infantino, becoming the first announced candidate to do so.
Ceferin’s decision to remain at UEFA therefore removes one of the most prominent potential alternatives to Infantino from the FIFA race while allowing him to continue leading Europe’s football associations through the next phase of the relationship between UEFA and FIFA.
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Infantino, meanwhile, has secured significant support elsewhere. At the CAF Strategy Conference in Cabo Verde on Thursday, Africa’s 54 football associations unanimously backed his bid for another term, giving the FIFA president a major bloc of support ahead of the election.
The man who said more than two years ago that he would not seek a fourth term has changed course. His decision means he will remain at the centre of European football politics just as the battle over the future direction of the global game enters another decisive phase.
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