Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Tuesday, May 26, 2026, 3:58 p.m. / Updated Tuesday, May 26, 2026, 4:20 p.m.
The Romanian Football Federation announced today that it supports the candidacy of Aleksander Ceferin (58 years old) for a new mandate at the head of UEFA, under the conditions that the Slovenian had publicly stated in 2024 that he will NOT run again, nor has he gone back on that promise.
The FRF seems to have given Aleksander Ceferin, since 2016 the president of UEFA, the goal of running for a new mandate at the head of the European forum.
In a statement published today on the official website, the Federation led by Răzvan Burleanu conveys that it “officially confirms its support for the candidacy of Mr. Aleksander Ceferin for a new mandate at the UEFA presidency”.
Today's FRF press release, May 26
Did FRF give Aleksander Ceferin a goal?! “We officially confirm the endorsement for candidacy”
The announcement surprises in the conditions in which Ceferin has not officially assumed this candidacy; moreover, in 2024, after the change of status that would allow him to run for a fourth term in 2027, publicly conveyed that “I have made the decision not to continue, not to run anymore”.
Since then, Ceferin has not officially announced that he has changed his mind and will submit his candidacy for a fourth term. However, in February there were articles in two renowned continental newspapers, L'Equipe and MARCA, in which the idea was entertained that “Ceferin is seriously considering continuing at the helm of UEFA”.
The controversy of Ceferin's mandates
Aleksander Ceferin has been leading UEFA since 2016. A year later, a provision of the Statute was adopted that stipulates that the president and members of the Executive Committee cannot hold those positions for more than 3 terms of 4 years each.
In 2024, that provision was changed so that Ceferin's first two-and-a-half-year term, 2016-2019, would not count, opening the way for him to run again in 2027.
In December 2023, before that amendment to the Statute, the British publication The Independent, launched the scenario for Răzvan Burleanu to compete with Ceferin at the head of UEFA in 2027.
The idea was that the UEFA members who are not loyal to Ceferin would have opposed the amendment of the Statute and would have planned the dethronement of the Slovenian, seeing Răzvan Burleanu as the ideal candidate of the opposition. The FRF president vehemently rejected the idea.
