There will at least be some headwind for President Gianni Infantino in the FIFA Council: the election of DFB President Bernd Neuendorf will become a matter of form as he has no opponent. The term of office of UEFA President Aleksander ?eferin will also be extended.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf’s entry into the Council of World Football Association FIFA has become a formality. As announced by UEFA, the 61-year-old is the only candidate for the post on the FIFA body that will become vacant following the resignation of former DFB top official Peter Peters.
Neuendorf is set to be nominated for the FIFA post by delegates from the continental federation at the UEFA Congress in Lisbon on 5 April. The mandate runs for two years. In the FIFA Council, Neuendorf is not considered a supporter of President Gianni Infantino, especially after the disputes during the World Cup in Qatar.
Aleksander ?eferin is also the only candidate to be elected UEFA President at the UEFA meeting in the Portuguese capital. The incumbent from Slovenia has led the association since September 2016. His re-election is considered certain, and the DFB also expressed its support early on.
The 55-year-old took over the presidency in 2016 and was confirmed in office for a second term in 2019. The deadline for applications from possible opponents had passed on January 5th.
DFB Vice-President and DFL Supervisory Board Chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke is also expected to join the UEFA Executive Committee in Lisbon. The nomination period ends on February 5th. Watzke succeeds Rainer Koch, who, like Peters, announced his withdrawal from international offices after the election defeat at the DFB Bundestag in March 2022.
David Martin from Northern Ireland and Hungary’s Sandor Csanyi are up for re-election as Vice-Presidents. They duel with the new contenders Debbie Hewitt from England and David Ari Lahti from Finland. Fernando Gomes from Portugal and Noel le Graet from France are running for a four-year term on the FIFA Council.
