UEFA Vice President Laura McAllister says finding a strong candidate to challenge FIFA President Gianni Infantino is more difficult than many people believe.
McAllister made the remarks in an interview with Deutsche Welle (DW) as FIFA continues to grapple with the fallout from Infantino’s failed attempt to sell a stake in the organisation to an investment group led by the brother of the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
The proposal was abandoned after widespread criticism from several football bodies, including UEFA, which threatened to boycott the next FIFA World Cup if the plan went ahead.
Despite the controversy, Infantino has retained enough backing to remain on course for re-election as FIFA president next year. McAllister said the biggest challenge now is finding a credible candidate capable of mounting a serious challenge.
“It’s not as easy as people might think. The right candidate has to also have the right level of support. There’s so much politics around this.”
“There’s such an imperative to get a candidate who could unite the whole world of football, not just Europe in this case” McAllister said.
