UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin snubs Club World Cup amid FIFA tensions

New York Times

a day ago

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has snubbed the entirety of the FIFA Club World Cup amid ongoing tensions between the European confederation and the global world governing body, FIFA.
While all other confederations have been represented at some stage by their presidents during this tournament, Ceferin, who is also a FIFA vice-president by virtue of his role at UEFA, has stayed away from the competition.
Advertisement
Sources familiar with the situation, but not authorised to speak publicly, believe senior executives at UEFA are concerned by FIFA's encroachment on the club game, the possible expansion of the Club World Cup and the potential of the Club World Cup to one day challenge the hegemony of the UEFA Champions League as the world's most popular club competition.
On Saturday, during a press briefing at Trump Tower in Manhattan, FIFA president Gianni Infantino refused to rule out the possibility of expanding the Club World Cup to include more European teams next time around, while also avoiding the question when asked directly by The Athletic if he would like the Club World Cup to take place every two years rather than every four years.
Infantino namechecked Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, Milan and Napoli as teams he would like to see involved, but it is unclear as to how the qualification formula, or country cap, may change to give those teams a better chance of being at the tournament.
Infantino hailed the financial benefits of the tournament, praising the $2.1billion (£1.6bn) generated in revenues, across the TV deal, sponsorship, ticketing and other income. 'For 63 matches, the basic average is $33million per match. There is no other club competition in the world today that comes anywhere close. It is already the most successful club competition on all different measures,' he claimed.
The winner of the Club World Cup, according to figures published by FIFA, may earn up to $125m (£93.5m). Yet this is less than the $154m that UEFA recently announced Real Madrid earned by winning the Champions League in 2024 — but FIFA would argue that the Club World Cup is worth more per game (given the winner plays a maximum of seven games over a month tournament, while the Champions League is played throughout the season).
But speaking to The Athletic during an event at Paris Saint-Germain's flagship 5th Avenue store in Manhattan on Saturday afternoon, the PSG chief executive Victoriano Melero stated his belief the tournament should remain every four years.
The Athletic asked UEFA earlier this week why Ceferin has not attended any matches during the Club World Cup in the United States, particularly as 12 UEFA club teams competed at the tournament and three — Real Madrid, PSG and Chelsea — made the semi-finals.
In an email, an unnamed UEFA spokesperson said: 'In case it slipped your mind, UEFA and its president's full attention is currently focused on the Women's EURO. This is a major event for us, and understandably, it requires significant commitment and attention.'
Advertisement
The Athletic has subsequently learned that Ceferin has attended only one of the first 22 matches of the Women's European Championship in Switzerland while the Club World Cup also began on June 13, a couple of weeks before the women's Euros began on July 2. UEFA declined to comment. Ceferin previously did not attend the Women's World Cup final in 2023, which was contested by two European nations, England and Spain.
Ceferin, as a confederation president and FIFA Council vice-president, is eligible to receive a net annual compensation from FIFA of $300,000. Neither UEFA nor FIFA commented in May when asked whether he accepts this money from FIFA.
It's also curious that the official UEFA social media account on Twitter/X has not made any reference to the Club World Cup or highlighted the roles of European teams or players during a tournament which had large UEFA club representation and will have an all-European final. The Conmebol account has, by contrast, been posting regularly about South American players and teams excelling at the tournament.
The situation follows dramatic scenes in Paraguay in May, when the UEFA members of the FIFA Council staged a walkout at the FIFA Congress following the late arrival of Infantino.
The eight UEFA members of the FIFA Council and several European delegates did not return after the early afternoon break.
The exit followed a three-hour delay to the Congress, because Infantino was late arriving for his own event on Thursday morning, having prioritised meetings with United States president Donald Trump in Qatar that week.
This included rescheduling the FIFA Council, which should have been in person in Asuncion on the Tuesday, but was instead held virtually on the Friday.
UEFA said the 'deeply regrettable' late timetable change due to 'what appears to be simply to accommodate private political interests' put football's interests second.
Advertisement
UEFA said: 'We are all in post to serve football; from the streets to the podium, and UEFA members of the FIFA Council felt the need on this occasion to make a point that the game comes first and to leave as originally scheduled.'
Infantino did apologise at the start of the Congress for being late. He said: 'As president of FIFA, my responsibility is to take decisions in the interests of the organisation. I decided to spend the last two days in the Middle East, knowing the 2034 World Cup will be in Saudi Arabia and the 2022 World Cup was in Qatar. The 2025 Club World Cup and 2026 World Cup will be in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Some important World Cup discussions took place and I needed to be there to represent football and all of you. We had an issue with our flight, which made this delay happen — apologies, sorry, and I am looking forward to spending time with you here.'
The Athletic approached FIFA for comment but it has not done so at time of publication.