The first man of the European House of Football (UEFA), Aleksander Ceferin, spoke in an extensive interview for the Serbian Sports Journal about many topics related to the World Cup in Qatar. In his opinion, this tournament will be won by one of the European selections and he also singled out the triumph in the clash with “a handful of powerful people who tried to privatize football” as his biggest result. .Ceferin, like many, is delighted with the infrastructure in Qatar; he says that he expects a lot more interesting football, but there is also a complaint. Or rather a message:”In the opening matches, we could see a lot of excitement and some amazing results. The beginning is promising. However, the tournament has only just started, it is still early for some major analyses. However, I am sure of one thing – the winter World Cup is not good for football and would not be dare to repeat it, because it burdens the calendar of competitions and the national leagues too much”.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Many experts see Brazil or Argentina on the throne, but not Ceferin…”Both selections look really powerful on paper and certainly belong to the group of favorites. But let’s not forget that since 2006, only European national teams have won the World Cup. I think that the streak of success of teams from our continent will continue. Many have the quality to go to the very end” .When asked whether the World Cup in Qatar could disrupt football in Europe, that is, what he thinks about matches that last 100 or 120 minutes with referee compensation, he said:”FIFA did announce that they will calculate lost time more strictly, but I have to admit that we are all surprised by such a long stoppage time in the opening matches. Medical interventions, frequent delays, increased number of substitutions and VAR affect the effective playing time, but I think we need to find the right measure. In the Champions League, for example, about 60 minutes are played effectively without such compensations. I think it is a good guideline. UEFA will definitely not follow this principle that FIFA applies in its tournament”.💬 “For me the best player right now or in the near future will be 🇫🇷 Mbappe.” 🤩UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin was in an exclusive interview with beIN SPORTS and you can watch the FULL INTERVIEW here: https://t.co/pTPOAni8Qn 🥳#FIFAWorldCup #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/BusCJ6lcst— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) November 22, 2022 The Slovenian briefly referred to the most difficult period of UEFA in this century – the corona crisis and the serious pressure of the European Super League…”The old proverb says that misfortunes never come alone. While the whole world was looking for a way out of the crisis caused by the pandemic, a handful of powerful people tried to take advantage of it and privatize elite football for their own selfish interests. They failed and will never succeed! Because football is part of our culture and tradition – it belongs to everyone, to each of us! I am extremely proud of how the European football family has responded to both challenges. That synergy of UEFA, the national federation, leagues, clubs and fans is truly unique”.
