BERLIN — UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin will stand for a fourth term as head of European soccer's governing body after informing delegates of his decision at a meeting of all 55 national association chiefs in Berlin.
The move had been widely anticipated and reverses his insistence that he would not seek re-election, which the Slovenian initially outlined in February 2024. Ceferin, 58, was initially elected in 2016 and was embroiled at that time in a row over UEFA changing its statutes to allow him to serve for a fourth term, though there had been a growing expectation he would stand.
That expectation has only been made more likely since UEFA launched its efforts to oust FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who scrapped the controversial plan to sell off stakes in the governing body's competitions to private investors following widespread opposition.
Ceferin has ruled out standing against Infantino himself but is committed to finding a candidate the game can unite around when FIFA holds its presidential election in March.