MX23RW : Thursday, January 16 02:43:35| >> :600:177265460:177265460:

Gianni Infantino elected for second term as FIFA president

The 49-year-old was the only candidate in the running for the position.

Gianni Infantino will run football's world governing body FIFA for four more years after being elected for a second term as president by acclamation in Paris on Wednesday.

The 49-year-old Swiss-Italian was the only candidate, so his election was never in doubt, and the traditional vote was replaced with a round of applause at FIFA's 69th Congress.

In his closing speech, an emotional Infantino thanked the delegates from FIFA's 211 member associations for their support and promised he would "not stand still" but would continue to develop the game and "defend football".

Gianni Infantino succeeded Sepp Blatter
Gianni Infantino succeeded Sepp Blatter (Nick Potts/PA)

His priorities would be the creation of more youth competitions, a continued push on women's football, more investment in technology and the organisation of a "world convention on football development".

Infantino used his opening speech, however, to list his achievements since taking over at an extraordinary congress in February 2016.

That was when he was given the task of restoring FIFA's reputation after the corruption scandals of 2015 that brought down his predecessor Sepp Blatter and a generation of football administrators with far higher profiles than his own.

Sepp Blatter
Gianni Infantino has worked to restore FIFA's reputation since replacing Sepp Blatter (Adam Davy/PA)

Reflecting on how far FIFA has come in three years and four months, Infantino said: "Today nobody is talking about crisis, nobody is talking about rebuilding from scratch, nobody is talking about corruption.

"We have turned things around. FIFA has gone from being toxic, almost criminal, to what it should be, an organisation that develops and cares about football."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Matt Slater, Press Association Sport, Paris');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'aff99a94-7f83-44a3-9dd1-7d0ab111e63e');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Gianni Infantino to serve second term as FIFA president'});

ID:361168: cacheID:361168:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6242:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Callum Hudson-Odoi in action for Chelsea on April 3, 2019
Read Next:
Chelsea confident over Hudson-Odoi deal?
>
Read more about Gianni Infantino Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool20145148202847
2Arsenal21127241192243
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest21125430201041
4Newcastle UnitedNewcastle21115537221538
5Chelsea21107441261537
6Manchester CityMan City2110563829935
7Aston Villa2110563132-135
8Bournemouth219753225734
9Fulham217953230230
10Brentford218494037328
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2061043029128
12West Ham UnitedWest Ham217592741-1426
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs21731143321124
14Crystal Palace215972328-524
15Manchester UnitedMan Utd206592328-523
16Everton203891526-1117
17Ipswich TownIpswich2037102035-1516
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2144133148-1716
19Leicester CityLeicester2135132346-2314
20Southampton2013161244-326


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!