MX23RW : Thursday, December 26 02:14:47| >> :600:175449332:175449332:

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
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


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!