Perhaps Alexander Ceferin was right to choose Paris for his Hall of Mirrors show, just over a dozen miles away from the real show at Versailles, but the impact of last Thursday’s events is no illusion. Maybe not. After all, the UEFA president’s dramatic announcement that he did not intend to run for an unprecedented fourth term was partly timed to unfairly ensnare his doubters, but the This has only exacerbated questions about the group’s future.
Had Ceferin not decided to seek changes to UEFA’s term limits, there would have been little discussion at this point about selecting a new leader in 2027. It was no surprise that now was the time for him to step down. Perhaps the Slovenian could have emerged from a series of controversies, accumulating more constructive elements of his reign and starting out in a relatively high position.
Instead, he allowed things to get muddy during what many inside and outside the organization agree was the worst possible time. Ceferin declared that he was “tired of the coronavirus, two wars and the meaningless project of the so-called Super League”, repeating a sentiment aired three weeks ago, but at least two of those problems The term of office is four years, with three-quarters of the issues remaining unresolved. Given enough oxygen, the last team still risks posing an existential threat to the sport, and European football can’t afford a leader it feels can’t compete.
His words will surely resonate with A22, which is promoting the Super League project. Since the end of last year, A22 has been building an extensive network around small and medium-sized clubs in Europe, which look increasingly important battlegrounds in the battle for the future of football, but at least They are equally active in the streets of Brussels. Mr Ceferin’s claim that he acquiesced in the decision not to stand for six months in order to “see the real faces of some people” is not only clear to Commission operatives, but also to the holes in the European Commission. Even those lobbying for a firmer stance may not be understood. Governance of UEFA.
Whether or not there are people who believe in Ceferin, and there will be doubts among those around him, he may come to regret displaying such clumsy logic in public. do not have. There’s also always the risk that insiders will feel like their loyalty is taken for granted. After seeing his amendment passed overwhelmingly, he suggested that the media, including the Guardian, should be “a little shy” about reporting on disagreements within UEFA. But since last week’s congress, it has become clear that the news of Ceferin’s plans to resign was met with surprise among members of the executive committee, even among those loyal to him. . There were no synchronized briefings. Some federations are also understood to be disappointed, to say the least, that they were not informed in advance. None of this promotes a climate of trust and cooperation.
If Ceferin was trying to eliminate opponents, the Football Association, the only voice opposing his changes to the rules, would have been willing to help. The FA was at pains to stress that its vote in favor of vice-president and UEFA treasurer David Gill was about principle, not character. Nevertheless, it is significant that this is the first time this has happened since 2011, when then president David Bernstein called for the cancellation of Sepp Blatter’s re-election as FIFA president in order to reform the world listed body. I felt that. They are so openly going against the grain of the times.
Suggestions that the FA may receive enthusiasm from the UEFA leadership about its stance are tempered by the fact that there is little punch to play with. Wembley will be the venue for this season’s Champions League final, while Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland will host Euro 2028. Both will require maximum cooperation, especially given the continued security failures of recent events. However, if the FA is to bid for the 2031 Women’s World Cup this year, it will undoubtedly need UEFA’s support.
Loyalties within UEFA may be further tested as presidential candidates begin to vie for the position. There is a sense that Ceferin has fired the starting gun in advance and that this is yet another distraction from more pressing concerns. There are few obvious candidates. Fernando Gómez, the president of the Portuguese Football Association, is generally well-respected, but will be 75 years old at the time of the election, so he may be best seen as an emergency option should storm clouds loom over the world of football. Romanian Razvan Bourlaine, a member of the FIFA council, is seen as a younger, more urbane option in influential circles, but there is no sign that he will mount a challenge. Former player Levan Kobiashvili, who heads the Georgian federation and was elected to the UEFA executive committee last year, is a close ally of Ceferin and could be an outside bet.
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In reality, any leadership contest becomes a battle of voting blocs in front of individuals. This is a result of the one country, one vote system used to elect the president. It remains to be seen, for example, whether the Eastern European and Northern European coalitions that pushed Mr. Čeferin’s candidacy for election in 2016 will be able to unite around a new candidate.
The fallout from the bizarre incident involving former UEFA head of football Zvonimir Boban, whose resignation last month sparked a war of words with former friend Ceferin, may continue. The two sides appear to differ over the president’s claim that Boban knew of his plans to leave. In any case, Boban may be missed where it really matters. While some sources downplay his influence, others say he helped lead the expansion of the Quadrennial Club World Cup from 2025 to UEFA and FIFA. This suggests that he contributed to the mediation of negotiations between the two countries. If FIFA and its friends find out, UEFA will need major diplomacy somewhere. 32 I would like to see team events repeated more frequently.
A description repeatedly used by Ceferin’s allies is that of a “no-bullshit” operator, someone who is unaccustomed to playing the game and is blunt and sometimes brusque. This characterization has enough support to be taken seriously in respected places. But even if Čeferin decides he is best placed to lead UEFA through another four turbulent years in 2027, some figures across the continent will be surprised. It says enough that it probably won’t. Soap operas may be compulsive viewing, but the stench from last week’s sideshow in Paris may be having a troubling effect.
