Why Infantino's failed World Cup idea is worse than the European Super League proposal

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FT Desk

UEFA and FIFA are currently at war as the governing body of European football desperately attempts to oust Gianni Infantino as FIFA President.

In the eyes of many, including many supporters, nations and continental bodies around the world, Infantino's position at FIFA has become untenable after his scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal that would have seen private equity firms acquire shares in the World Cup.

The response to the plans was so negative that they were halted after just a couple of days, with UEFA accusing FIFA and Infantino of trying to sell the soul of football.

UEFA want him out either via a resignation or by putting up their own candidate in the next election.

One man who won't be standing in that election, however, is current UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, despite his clear opposition to Infantino.

"I'm not interested because of two reasons. One reason is that I love UEFA and I love working here, and I think that at a certain point, it's time to also enjoy life a bit," Ceferin said on the Rest is Politics podcast, external.

"The second point is, my credibility is much, much higher if I'm not interested in the position."

The almost immediate failure of the FFE plan echoes the period when the controversial European Super League was announced. Like with FFE, fans and organisations rallied and after making their feelings perfectly clear, that idea was also scrapped within a few days.

The idea was announced in April of 2021 by 12 major clubs: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. The proposed competition would have given the founding clubs guaranteed places, meaning they would not need to qualify through their domestic leagues.

The idea proved highly controversial because many people believed it would make European football less competitive and give the richest clubs even more financial power. Unlike the Champions League, where clubs generally have to earn qualification through their performance in domestic competitions, the original Super League plan would have protected its founding members from being excluded.

The response to the Super League plan was overwhelmingly negative, but for UEFA in particular, it paled in comparison to the FFE in how it would impact football as a whole.

"I think this plan is even worse than the Super League," Ceferin said.

"Super important clubs wanted to do their own league, which is wrong, and would destroy football. But in this case, football would be literally sold.

"I'm absolutely sure that the plan is dead. It's hard to to imagine what kind of people would sell the sport that belongs to everyone. We will not allow that to happen."

As for the FIFA Presidency, with Ceferin out of the running UEFA need to look at alternatives.

Another popular candidate is Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, but he reportedly has no interest in standing for office despite being chairman of the European Football Clubs organisation.

Bosnia, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Spain all want Legia owner Dariusz Mioduski.

Concacaf president Victor Montagliani has also been mentioned as a possible successor to Infantino.

The deadline for nominations in the upcoming FIFA presidential election is 18 November, with the election itself taking place in Rabat, Morocco.