Further term until 2031? Ceferin leaves the door open

Aleksander Ceferin is in his third term as Uefa President – now he is asked to be a fourth that shouldn’t actually exist. He keeps the option open. This is made possible by a satellite change from last year.

Does he start again in 2027 after he had previously denied it? “Let’s talk about today’s congress”said Ceferin at the press conference after the UEFA Congress in Belgard on Thursday (April 3rd, 2025). “I heard a lot of things, you heard a lot of things – it’s not the time to talk about it.” In 2024 he said after the congress in Paris: “I don’t plan to compete again in 2027.” Now he expressed a change in these plans.

The desire for a sequel came from Germany. “I don’t see any far and wide that can do it in this perfection like Aleksander”said Hans-Joachim Watzke, who had recently been re-elected to the UEFA Executive Committee. “I wish that extremely and he knows that too.” DFB President Bernd Neuendorf said: “The associations always work well when there is stability at the top. It leads the association calmly and prudently.” Ceferin experiences similar encouragement from numerous other national associations. And so far, no other person in European football has publicly registered claims for the post.

Change of statutes theoretically clear the way

It would be the fourth term for Ceferin. The UEFA statutes actually provide for a restriction to three terms. At the Congress 2024, however, the UEFA leadership brought about changes in statutes. These mean that Ceferin’s first term from 2016 to 2019 will not be counted towards the term of office. As a result, he only formally had his first term from 2019 to 2023 and from 2023 to 2027. The path for a further choice from 2027 to 2031 is legally free.

Before the decision of the statutes, there was a real debate, which had become rather unusual in football policy. The English Association in the person of the UEFA treasurer David Gill Signed in a clear contradiction, with Zvonimir Boban the “Head of Football” from the UEFA resigned in protest. Boban was a familiar Cefiner for many years. “He pursues his personal goals”said Boban with a view of Ceferin and added: “I’m not alone with these thoughts.”

Almost defiantly, after the assumption of the statutes in Paris 2024, Ceferin said that he was not a new candidacy “Plant”. He had made his decision half a year earlier, but has deliberately not announced it. “Because I wanted to see the true faces of some people – and I saw them “said Ceferin at the time.

DFB supported the Change of statutes

The statutes were publicly supported by the German Football Association (DFB). At that time, the UEFA and Ceferer and the DFB argued that the change was necessary to adapt the statutes to Swiss law, which is subject to the UEFA based in Switzerland. The wording of the term of office would not have been effective in the previous form.

A crucial detail: According to the previous wording, the terms concluded before July 1, 2017 are not part of the term of office, but already started. And that contradicts Swiss law, according to the argument.

At that time, several sports lawyers contradicted this perspective. The UEFA Commission for Legal Questions still proposed the amendments to the statutes, and the power of the Executive Committee was also expanded by the new formulation of the statutes. The changes were accepted with a few votes against the congress in Paris. DFB Vice President Ralph-Uwe Schaffert is part of the said Commission, but the committee is headed by the Danish Association President Jesper Möller.

Several associations have already signaled support

Möller, who also sits in the UEFA Executive Committee, had already spoken out for another term of office at a board meeting of the Danish association for another term at Ceferin at the beginning of March. Most recently, a group of eleven Southeast European associations had a Ceferin without reference to re -election “Unconditional support” promised. Among them are the associations from Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Turkey and Greece.

This was followed by a similar message from the “Group of Football Associations of Small States in Europe”, in which Gibraltar, Montenegro, Andorra and San Marino are, for example.

Infantino could also have up to four terms of office until 2031

Ceferer came with the UEFA how Gianni Infantino at FIFA in 2016 after the big scandals in FIFA to the presidency. Sepp Blatter (FIFA) and Michel Platini (UEFA) had to clear their posts at the time. Both associations then gave themselves the provision of a restriction to three terms of office.

FIFA President Infantino drew attention to that his first term in office in Katar, in his view, did not count in the term of office because it only took three instead of four years, it was the remaining term of Blatter’s last term. He had this view officially confirmed by the FIFA Council and can now also be elected again in 2027 by 2031. It is open whether 2031 term of office will still apply. Because the trend is different: the Asian Confederation completed the restriction in 2024.