On July 19, the empty seat of Aleksander Ceferin at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey was the metaphor of a war that had been brewing for some time and now threatens the future of football. The UEFA president did not hesitate to boycott the World Cup final, the sanctasanctórum of Gianni Infantino, his counterpart at FIFA. Just 10 days after that snub, Infantino responded with his project to privatize the World Cup. In response to this challenge, Ceferin plans to strike where it hurts his great enemy the most.
UEFA has called a meeting at the end of this week to discuss measures against FIFA. The most forceful, as this newspaper has learned, will be the boycott of European women's national teams at the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and the 2030 World Cup, to be held in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. A response equal to Infantino's privatization plan.
Six out of the eight teams that reached the quarterfinals of the last World Cup were European. This figure is in line with the two previous editions (five in Qatar 2022 and six in Russia 2018). Ceferin plans to leverage this dominance on the field to its fullest extent. In fact, it is the only leverage he has against an emboldened Infantino following the resounding success, both in sports and commercial terms, of the 2026 World Cup.
"FIFA cannot continue to use our sport to enrich itself and its friends," UEFA emphasized yesterday in a statement, confirming the existence of "significant and growing" opposition to FIFA's plan. Without explicitly mentioning it, reference was made to the "deep concern" expressed yesterday by the English Football Association (FA) and the strong opposition from CONCACAF, the confederation covering North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Ceferin needs to move boldly on the chessboard, aware of his limitations. Of the 211 FIFA member federations, only 55 are European. Therefore, the Slovenian knows how futile it would be to present a candidate of his choice to compete against Infantino in the 2027 elections. FIFA's overwhelming numerical superiority is also based on its clientelistic system, where favors are repaid with favors.
In recent hours, Infantino has reiterated that his new model aims to "ensure the growth of the rest of football." This democratization of the game translates into $20 million annually. An irresistible offer for many federations from poorer countries, which, on average, operate with half the budget. The vote in September will be decided by a simple majority, so Infantino only needs more votes in favor than against.
According to the FIFA Forward Enterprise model for the new World Cup, FIFA will have a majority stake, private investors between 20 and 30 percent, and the 211 member federations a minority share, around 20 percent. Infantino, of course, did not hesitate to assign the operation to Thrive Capital, a company owned by Joshua Kushner, Ivanka Trump's brother-in-law, and JP Morgan bank. Additionally, Greg Maffei, former president of Liberty Media and a generous donor to the Republican president's campaigns, will act as a "key commercial advisor."
Ceferin's patience has been exhausted by this entire commercial setup. Hostilities with Infantino began last summer with the Club World Cup, a direct threat to the Champions League, but have escalated throughout the World Cup. From the case of Folarin Balogun, who had a red card revoked by FIFA after a call from the White House, to Omar Artan, the Somali referee denied entry to the US by immigration authorities. Not to mention the preferential treatment given to the Iranian national team, the hydration breaks, ticket price increases, or the endless halftime show. As FIFA vice president, Ceferin lamented that all these decisions were made by Infantino behind his back.
However, the Slovenian, who will celebrate 10 years in office in September, feels powerful in his domain. Especially since he was able to resolve the Super League issue by readmitting Real Madrid. So, the final battle against Infantino is underway. The Swiss lawyer, of course, knows he has the support of the most powerful man on the planet, to whom he awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, entrusted with safeguarding the Club World Cup trophy in the Oval Office, and shared jokes with during his inauguration speech.