FIFA have announced Gianni Infantino as the successor to Sepp Blatter, as the new president of world football’s governing body.
Infantino saw off President of the Asian Football Confederation Sheikh Salman, former FIFA executive Jerome Champagne of France and Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan.
Following a second round of voting, needing 104 votes to win, Infantino polled 115 and was named FIFA president until 2019 – the second successive Swiss president.
Profile
Full name: Gianni Infantino
Age: 45
From: Switzerland, but also holds Italian nationality
Current roles: General secretary of UEFA
Background
Infantino was born in Brig, Switzerland but has Italian origins.
He did not have a footballing background as a youngster and continued his education to the University of Friborg (Switzerland), where he studied law.
Impressively, Infantino fluently speaks Italian, French, German, English and Spanish.
Before joining FIFA, he was working as the general secretary of the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) at the University of Neuchatel and had worked as an advisor to football bodies in Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
Roles in football
Infantino has held the position of general secretary at UEFA, the European games’ governing body, since October 2009 after initially joining as a lawyer in 2000.
His role has seen him help strengthen the national and international game across Europe, as well as try to increase the credibility and respect of UEFA throughout the rest of the world.
He is at the helm of UEFA’s administration and has tried to create a sustainable future for the game, including the introduction of Financial Fair Play, which he championed.
Infantino has also increased the participation numbers in Euro 2016 from 16 to 24 teams and spearheaded the campaign to have Euro 2020 hosted across 13 countries.
FIFA presidency campaign
Infantino was considered the second favourite for FIFA presidency before voting took place.
But he was always confident that he would come out on top after UEFA’s executive committee confirmed their unanimous support for the Swiss-Italian. He also secured the support of Central America.
“I am very honoured for the support I received. I am also much more responsible now than I was before these meetings,” he said after gaining the support of Europe’s nations.
“With such a big endorsement you have to take these proceedings very professionally, very openly. I am very confident from what I hear and what I’ve heard from the 54 members.”
To the average football fan, the most significant change that is likely under Infantino’s presidency is that the FIFA World Cup would become a 40-team tournament, as opposed to the traditional 32.
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