Al-Khalifa Distances Himself from Infantino's Succession in FIFA Presidency

Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of the French football club Paris Saint-Germain, said on Tuesday evening that the European search for a candidate to challenge Gianni Infantino in the upcoming FIFA presidential election would not end with him or settle on him.

Al-Khelaifi also chairs the European Club Association, a group of influential European football clubs, and is therefore a member of UEFA’s Executive Committee, which is leading efforts to oust Infantino after his plan to sell stakes in the profits of future World Cups to private investors failed.

Speaking at a press conference following the annual meeting of the European Club Association in Copenhagen, the Danish capital, Al-Khelaifi said: “I have absolutely no interest in FIFA, nor any agenda or ambition to take up a position there.”

The annual meeting of the group, which comprises 900 clubs, comes amid significant political turbulence in football, with questions mounting over Infantino’s future as FIFA president.

The meeting follows the revelation, two months ago, of Infantino’s plan to create a FIFA subsidiary worth billions of dollars, a proposal that was rejected just days later. It also precedes the deadline for candidates to register to challenge Infantino by seven weeks.

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin is leading a campaign to end Infantino’s presidency, either before the elections scheduled for March 18 in Morocco or during them. Čeferin also spoke with club officials on Tuesday.

In a speech lasting nearly ten minutes, during which he did not mention Infantino by name, Čeferin said: “Football does not need emperors.” Infantino’s major initiatives since his first election in 2016 have often been viewed by UEFA officials, the confederation where he previously worked, as a threat.

Čeferin’s signals, including his remarks about creating an award for a political figure, were clearly directed at Infantino and his close working relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Čeferin, who is also FIFA Vice President and has ruled himself out of running for the FIFA presidency, said: “The time has come to say: enough. The rules were changed when they became unsuitable. People who were supposed to have a say were sidelined. And the future of football has become just another bargaining chip.”