FIFA: Gianni Infantino elected new president, replacing Sepp Blatter
Updated
New FIFA president Gianni Infantino has vowed to lead soccer's world governing body out of years of corruption and scandal after being elected to succeed Sepp Blatter.
Key points:
- Gianni Infantino elected new FIFA president
- Vows to rebuild the association's battered image
- Bahrain's Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa polled second
Mr Infantino, the current secretary general of UEFA, received 115 out of a possible 207 votes in the second round of voting in Zurich.
He will replace disgraced former chief Mr Blatter, who has been suspended for six years for ethics violations after 18 rollercoaster years in charge.
The road ahead for FIFA
Gianno Infantino has made it very clear he wants to clean up the organisation's reputation and restore trust in it.
But in his acceptance speech he did make it very clear that he thought world football had a long way to go to win back people who had been disillusioned by the current corruption crisis that has taken over.
He was very positive about the future of football and said he would like to make some big changes over the next five years. It is certainly going to be a tricky task.
Now that he's been elected, all the delegates that have been flowing out of the building have been very bullish, talking about how this is the beginning of a new era for FIFA; how it's the beginning of restoring FIFA's reputation.
But of course that is going to be easier said than done.
The US is investigating FIFA. The Swiss authorities here are investigating FIFA.
And there are constant rumours, particularly rumours over the past couple of days, about more arrests potentially.
- analysis by Europe correspondent James Glenday
"We will restore the image of FIFA and the respect of FIFA, and everyone in the world will be proud of us," Mr Infantino told the extraordinary FIFA Congress in Zurich in an emotional speech.
"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."
The Swiss-Italian lawyer outpolled three other candidates, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain, Prince Ali al-Hussein of Jordan and Jerome Champagne, a former French diplomat.
A fifth candidate, Toyko Sexwale of South Africa, withdrew from the race just moments before the first round of voting.
Mr Infantino served for seven years as general secretary of UEFA where he was Michel Platini's right-hand man.
But with Mr Platini banned from football last year along with Mr Blatter, Mr Infantino entered the race and sensationally snatched the job from his boss, who was Europe's preferred candidate.
He now inherits a very different job from that inhabited by the disgraced Mr Blatter, who toured the world like a head of state, dispensing development funds to his global support base.
"I congratulate Gianni sincerely and from the bottom of my heart for this election," Mr Blatter said in a statement.
Infantino hailed as right man, right time for FIFA
Greg Dyke, chairman of England's Football Association, said Mr Infantino was the right man for the job as he was not a politician or a superstar.
"He's just very together, very organised. He has run UEFA really well and he'll be great as the president of FIFA," Mr Dyke said.
"I think we can be more optimistic about the future of FIFA now than we could have been certainly a week ago, after a terrible year.
"It's been a corrupted organisation for a long time and now I think this is some hope for the future."
Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko, whose country controversially won the 2018 World Cup, also said Mr Infantino was the right man for the job.
"I hope that everything he has planned will be realised. Football needs a pragmatic and experienced man like him," he said.
Five Gianni Infantino facts
- Swiss of Italian origin, he speaks five languages: Italian, French, German, English and Spanish.
- He studied law at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.
- Before joining UEFA he worked as secretary general of the International Centre for Sports Studies at the University of Neuchatel.
- Joined UEFA in August 2000 and worked his way up to secretary general in 2009.
- Only decided to run for FIFA president after Michel Platini was handed a provisional 90-day suspension over a corruption scandal
Francois Carrard, who headed FIFA's independent reform committee, said Mr Infantino represented the "best possible outcome".
"He was always promoting the most aggressive reforms. He knows football," he said.
The Football Federation of Australia had backed Prince Ali, but chairman Steven Lowy said he was not disappointed with Mr Infantino's appointment.
"We saw Prince Ali as a very strong reform candidate and he gained our support," he said.
"Having said that we see today as a momentous day for FIFA, probably the best day FIFA has had in a very long time. Today a whole range of reforms were passed."
Asked how long it would take the body to rebuild trust, Mr Lowy said: "You know what they say, it takes a lifetime to build a reputation but a second to lose it. I'm sure that the proof will be in the pudding."
Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou said he hoped the new FIFA president marked a change in the sport.
"I'm just pleased that there seems to be a reform process," he said.
"I don't think anyone would deny that change was needed, it looks like change has been made."
Congress passes reforms for tighter oversights
Before the election, the Congress overwhelmingly passing a set of reforms intended to make it more transparent, professional and accountable.
The package should mean the new president will face much closer scrutiny than Mr Blatter did, and have less influence over the day-to-day management of the organisation's business affairs.
The reforms include term limits for top officials and disclosure of earnings, and a clear separation between an elected FIFA Council responsible for broad strategy and a professional general secretariat, akin to a company's executive board, handling the business side.
Much of Mr Infantino's pitch centred on his commercial acumen; during his seven years as secretary-general, revenue from Europe's club competitions has grown dramatically, but so has inequality between the rich, powerful elite clubs in Europe's four big leagues and the rest.
But many of the skills now required will be in crisis management.
Criminal investigations in the United States and Switzerland have resulted in the indictment of dozens of soccer officials and other entities for corruption, many of them serving or former presidents of national or continental associations.
In addition, FIFA has been forced to investigate controversies surrounding the awarding of its showpiece, the World Cup finals, especially the decision to grant the 2018 tournament to Russia and the 2022 finals to Qatar, a small, scorching desert state with little soccer tradition.
ABC/Reuters
