Aleksander Ceferin could stay on as UEFA president despite 2027 exit pledge | OneFootball

Aleksander Ceferin could yet stay on as UEFA president, despite saying in February 2024 he would not run again in 2027. According to L'Équipe, he has been testing the ground with close allies about extending his tenure.

At a Brussels hotel on Wednesday, as UEFA's executive committee met before the congress, his future was a live topic. In Paris on 8 February 2024 he cited fatigue and years away from his family in Slovenia, and criticised those who suspected him of seeking statute changes to retain power, such as David Gill and Zvonimir Boban.

By late August in Monaco, during the European club competition draws, he sounded out his inner circle about a possible new four-year term, asking whether they would stay on with him. The group included general secretary Theodore Theodoridis, deputy Giorgio Marchetti and Euro operations chief Martin Kallen. The response was broadly positive, potentially carrying the administration through to Euro 2028 in the UK and Ireland, though finance lead Josef Koller is expected to retire.

He has repeated those feelers more recently. Federations have also lined up behind him, with an association of 11, mainly from eastern Europe, declaring unanimous support on 16 April 2024, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Türkiye and Albania. Months later a separate group of smaller nations, among them Gibraltar, Andorra, Luxembourg, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein, Malta, Cyprus, Montenegro and San Marino, offered unconditional backing.

British and some Scandinavian federations appear readier to criticise any U-turn. Ceferin, who earns €3 million a year from UEFA plus €300,000 as a FIFA vice-president, could use Thursday’s congress to state his intentions, a typical window around a year before a vote. Yet he remains hard to read, and some believe he may simply be testing the waters and could still step aside.

Source: L'Équipe