UEFA seeks unity candidate to challenge Infantino

UEFA is pressing ahead with efforts to challenge Gianni Infantino in next year’s FIFA presidential election despite withdrawing its threat to boycott FIFA competitions.

Europe’s 55 member associations, along with UEFA’s representatives on the FIFA Council, are expected to receive a letter confirming that the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan will not be revived.

As reported by BBC Sport on Thursday, the withdrawal of the boycott is expected to be formally confirmed at UEFA’s executive committee meeting in Monaco.

The decision means the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland can proceed next week with all six European teams taking part. England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and hosts Poland are scheduled to compete.

“UEFA remains confident that a unity candidate can be found to stand against Infantino when he seeks re-election in March.

“A candidate needs the support of 106 of FIFA’s 211 member associations to win, and UEFA believes the contest could be closely fought,” BBC Sport added.

UEFA has abandoned plans to pursue a vote of no confidence against Infantino, as such a move would require 159 votes, or three quarters of FIFA’s membership.

No challenger has yet been identified, although Concacaf president Victor Montagliani is regarded as a serious potential candidate.

Nominations for the FIFA presidency must be submitted by November 18.

UEFA believes that even if Infantino wins a close election, his presidency could suffer significant damage if his level of support falls sharply and his legitimacy is questioned.

Last month, UEFA’s 55 associations voted to boycott FIFA competitions until the Forward Enterprise proposal was dropped completely and binding guarantees were provided that FIFA would not again open its governance or competitions to private ownership.

FIFA has welcomed UEFA’s decision to end the boycott, saying it is pleased that all qualified teams will participate in the upcoming Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

FIFA also said it believes football can unite people during difficult periods and remains committed to developing the sport through dialogue with the confederations and other stakeholders.