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ZURICH — Gianni Infantino was re-elected yesterday by acclamation for a second term as FIFA president at the Congress of world football’s governing body in Paris.
The 49-year-old, who took charge of FIFA in February 2016 after the departure of the disgraced Sepp Blatter, stood unopposed for a new four-year term which will run until 2023.
Earlier, Infantino had insisted that FIFA had been transformed into an organisation “synonymous with credibility” as he addressed representatives of the 211 member federations, before the Women’s World Cup begins in the French capital tomorrow.
“Today, nobody talks about crises, nobody talks about rebuilding FIFA from scratch, nobody talks about scandals, nobody talks about corruption, we talk about football,” insisted the Swiss-Italian lawyer, formerly secretary general of UEFA.
“The very least we can say is that we have turned the situation around.
“In three years and four months, this organisation went from being toxic, almost criminal, to being what it should be, an organisation that develops football, an organisation that cares about football.”
The Swiss-Italian succeeded Sepp Blatter in 2016 and has increased the number of teams at the 2026 World Cup and proposed key changes to the Club World Cup.
Ex-president Blatter was in charge for 17 years until he was banned amid a corruption scandal in 2015.
Infantino’s re-election was marked by a round of applause, after rules were changed earlier in the day to no longer require a vote from FIFA’s 211 members if only one candidate was standing. In a lengthy speech at the congress, Infantino focussed on the relative calm of his first term in charge compared to the situation he inherited.
“Nobody talks about crisis at FIFA any more or rebuilding it from scratch,” he said. — AFP.
Online Reporter