UEFA gathers its members for the congress in Brussels. There are no elections coming up, but there are important questions: These concern how to deal with Russia and the USA as well as the future of President Aleksander Ceferin.
On Thursday (February 12, 2026), the delegates from the 55 member associations, including the German Football Association, will meet in a hall at the exhibition center in Brussels. The most important questions before the congress:
What’s next for President Aleksander Ceferin?
Ceferin is in his third term. According to the statutes, it’s actually over after three terms of office. Since a change in the statutes at the congress in Paris in 2024, Ceferin’s first term in office is no longer included. It was a three-year term remaining in the last term of office of Ceferin’s predecessor, Michel Platini.
UEFA argued that the change in the statutes corrected errors in the old document and that only then would the term limits be legally secure. There was a real explosion when Ceferin’s former confidant Zvonimir Boban resigned from his position at UEFA and accused Ceferin of pursuing his own interests. Also the then UEFA treasurer from England, David Gillcriticized. The DFB expressly supported Ceferin’s actions.
Almost defiantly, Ceferin said in response to the criticism after the 2024 congress: “I don’t plan to run again in 2027.” These plans could obviously change, because he expressly did not confirm this plan when asked at the 2025 congress. The fact that no one has positioned themselves for a successor in the meantime and that several associations have repeatedly expressed their support for Ceferin is fueling speculation that Ceferin will run again – for a fourth term in office, which actually shouldn’t exist.
How does UEFA react to the issue of Russia?
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is in line with the trend in world sport with its push for the reintegration of Russia, even if the political situation has not changed since 2022 and Russia is waging war against Ukraine with undiminished severity.
Like Ukraine, Russia is also a member of UEFA. In 2025, Ceferin said at a press conference after the congress in Belgrade that a decision would most likely be made together with FIFA. “On the reintegration of the Russian teams – I have said it several times and I can repeat it, even if you will still have your doubts. They will be admitted again when the war ends.”
However, Infantino has not yet spoken of the prerequisite for an end to the war. Against this background, it will be interesting to see whether Ceferin and UEFA will take a new position at the congress. The UEFA Executive Committee, which decides on this issue, will meet on Wednesday. DFL boss Hans-Joachim Watzke is a voting member there and in 2023 he voted for the re-admission of Russian U17 teams. It is not known whether the topic will be addressed. The DFB did not comment on a question from Sportschau about its position regarding Russia.
The Russian national team in a friendly match against Iran
Russia’s association itself was never excluded, even after the war began. Its officials have always been part of UEFA’s committees and will also have voting rights in Brussels. The teams were never because of the war, but official “for safety reasons” and for warranty “a smooth running of gaming operations” suspended.
Can anyone find words about the situation in the USA?
A boycott of the 2026 World Cup, as DFB Vice President Oke Göttlich has at least recommended, was never a serious issue. Given the political situation in the USA, far from the boycott discussion, the question remains whether UEFA and the European national associations will even find words.
While in Italy, on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, several US athletes spoke clearly about the US President’s autocratic leadership style Donald Trump choose, football remains largely silent.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf also refused to make any assessment of the political situation in the USA. The associations from France and Austria, for example, took similar positions. European football is a long way from boycotting the World Cup and also from classifying the situation.
FIFA expects record revenue of nine billion US dollars from the 2026 World Cup, and FIFA boss Infantino maintains a close alliance with Donald Trump. National associations such as the DFB benefit directly from this money. The USA is also considered the most promising growth market in professional football – the major European leagues such as the Bundesliga and UEFA are hoping for new income here Champions League.
US President Donald Trump (l.) with FIFA President Gianni Infantino
Will the debate about excluding Israel return?
FIFA, through its president Infantino, rejected all calls for the suspension of Israeli teams or the association. The Palestinian association had requested sanctions against Israel and justified this, among other things, by the fact that there was an illegal Israeli gaming operation on Palestinian territory in the West Bank.
Israel’s national football team
Israel has been a member of UEFA since the 1990s. At the beginning of November, the Irish Football Association’s general meeting voted by a clear majority to call on UEFA to suspend all Israeli teams. A similar formulation came from the Turkish association. In September 2025, when the Gaza war was in full swing, indirect criticism was heard from UEFA – but no action was taken there either. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since October, and a renewed discussion about sanctions against Israel currently seems unlikely.
