Gianni Infantino Succeeds Sepp Blatter As The New FIFA President

Gianni-Infantino
UEFA secretary general Gianni Infantino elected as the new FIFA president . Image Source : facepolitica.com

Internet Desk: After almost two decades the football world will see a change in the apex body. Swiss Gianni Infantino has succeeded Sepp Blatter as the new FIFA president. The UEFA secretary general defeated his closest rival Sheikh Salman by 115 votes to 88 votes .

Prince Ali bin al-Hussein was third with four, while Jerome Champagne failed to get any. Tokyo Sexwale withdrew before voting began in Zurich.

The first round of voting had failed to determine an outright winner.

A simple majority of more than 50 per cent i.e., 104 votes  was required for victory in the second round.

45 year old Infantino is a lawyer by profession. He hails from Brig in the Valais region of Switzerland, less than six miles from Blatter’s hometown of Visp.

Blatter, who led world football’s governing body since 1998, stood down last year and was later banned from football for six years.

Newly elected FIFA president Infantino later emphasized to restore the image of FIFA, “My priority will be to restore the image of FIFA and the respect of FIFA”.

He added: “I want to work with all of you together in order to restore and rebuild a new era of Fifa where we can put again football at the centre of the stage.

“Fifa has gone through sad times, moments of crisis, but those times are over. We need to implement the reform and implement good governance and transparency. We also need to have respect.

“We’re going to win back this respect through hard work, commitment and we’re going to make sure we can finally focus on this wonderful game.”

In order to be more transparent and accountable, FIFA passed a few reforms. The salaries of everyone at FIFA will be disclosed, while a limit of four years has been placed on a president’s term.

A new council to replace the current executive committee has also been introduced, featuring a female representative from each confederation.