Gianni Infantino Succeeds Blatter As FIFA President
Gianni Infantino, Newly Elected FIFA President[/caption]
Gianni Infantino has been elected the new President of FIFA, after Friday’s election in Zurich.
Infantino, who has been UEFA General Secretary since 2000, became the first elected president of the world football governing body, since Sepp Blatter in 1998.
Blatter, who is serving a six-year ban from football, announced his resignation last June following a corruption scandal that engulfed the organisation in May.
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The 45-year old UEFA General Secretary was elected in the second round of voting with 115 of the 207 votes from FIFA’s national associations, defeating Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who had 88.
“We will restore the image of FIFA and everyone will applaud us,” Infantino said in his acceptance speech.
He added: “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 that is football.”
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In the first round of votes, Infantino had 88 votes, followed by Sheikh Salman with 85, Prince Ali with 27, and Jerome Champagne with 7.
