UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is set to meet European Club Association chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi as European football seeks to broaden its opposition to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The meeting is expected to take place on the sidelines of the UEFA Super Cup final in Salzburg on 12 August, according to Spanish newspaper Marca. Ceferin and Al-Khelaifi will discuss how UEFA and the clubs can coordinate their positions on FIFA and the next stage of the dispute.
The disagreement has grown since Infantino withdrew a plan to privatise the commercial rights to FIFA competitions following widespread opposition. UEFA had called for Infantino to resign and warned that it could intensify its protests and seek a vote on his removal.
Reports have suggested that Ceferin has been putting pressure on the European Club Association to consider a more forceful response, including a possible boycott of the next FIFA Club World Cup.
However, sources within the association said that option is not currently being considered. They pointed out that no agreement has yet been reached over the 2029 edition of the competition, making any discussion of a boycott premature.
Discontent among European clubs is nevertheless growing. The clubs have still not received any financial compensation for releasing their players to take part in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, and the issue has become a subject of discussion within the European Club Association.
UEFA also remains opposed to any proposal to expand the FIFA Club World Cup to 48 teams. It believes such a change would add to the pressure on an already overcrowded fixture calendar.
Ceferin has previously criticised the increasing number of competitions and has said that the demands being placed on players and clubs are becoming excessive. UEFA’s objection is therefore not limited to the commercial arrangements surrounding FIFA’s competitions, but also concerns their effect on the football calendar.
European clubs believe Infantino’s latest project went beyond the usual institutional framework. They argue that it included arrangements affecting clubs’ rights, responsibilities and players without proper consultation or a prior agreement.
Relations between FIFA and the European Club Association are governed by a memorandum of understanding covering those areas. That agreement runs until 2030, although it does not include the 2029 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup.
UEFA’s response is also extending beyond clubs. The governing body is working to bring Europe’s national football associations together around a common position.
All 55 UEFA member associations are understood to have rejected Infantino’s commercial model. But only four have taken the further step of formally withdrawing their support for his re-election as FIFA president: England, Wales, Sweden and Serbia.
Their decisions indicate that opposition to Infantino is no longer confined to UEFA’s leadership or the continent’s major clubs. With the planned Salzburg meeting between Ceferin and Al-Khelaifi, European football is now seeking to coordinate its response across both club and national-association structures.
