FIFA New President Named: Gianni Infantino Takes Post After Corruption Scandal Left Blatter Out Of Game

Gianni Infantino, 45 years old, is a Swiss football administrator of Italian origin. Infantino has been the general secretary of UEFA since 2009 and holds both Swiss and Italian nationality. He was elected president during the 2016 FIFA extraordinary Congress on 26 February 2016 which was held with the purpose of reforming FIFA. World football’s governing body elected the Swiss-Italian lawyer this Friday after he defeated nearest rival Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa in the second round of voting.

On the first ballot of voting, when a candidate needed 138 of the 207 votes to win, now new president Infantino, received 88; on the second ballot, when only a simple majority was required, he received 115 to claim what many believed is the most powerful position in the world sports. On the second ballot, Sheikh Salman received 88 voters after receiving 85 on the first.

On 26 October 2015, Infantino received the full backing of the UEFA Executive Committee to stand for the position of FIFA President in the upcoming FIFA Extraordinary Congress. On the same day, he confirmed his candidacy and that he submitted the required declaration of support. Today, February 26, 2016, was elected President in Zurich, Switzerland. He is a multilingual lawyer; he is married and has four children.

After corruption scandal that hits FIFA organization, Gianni Infantino, succeeds Sepp Blatter, who stepped down last year with the organization mired in allegations of corruption and wrongdoing. “I cannot express my feelings in this moment, “he told delegates. “I want to be president of all of you, of all 209 nations, I want to work with all of you to work together and build a new era where we can put football at the center of the stage" said Infantino.

Blatter, the longtime face of world soccer, was re-elected two days after the arrests, but he quickly announced his intention to step down as the investigation widened. Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, the president of EUFA, which oversees soccer in Europe, were when questioned by the Swiss authorities over what was called an improper $2 million payment from FIFA to Mr. Platini. However, the criminal investigation in Switzerland and the United States continue.