At the FIFA Congress in Kigali on Thursday, Gianni Infantino unanimously elected to serve as president until 2027. Infantino became FIFA president unopposed for third term at the 73rd FIFACongress in Kigali, Rwanda today. He will serve another four-year term at the helm of world soccer’s governing body
The same way he was four years ago, the 52-year-old Swiss lawyer who replaced the disgraced Sepp Blatter in 2016. And ushered in for a third term by acclamation.
Gianni Infantino as FIFA president focused on bringing wide-ranging reforms to FIFA, expanding global participation in FIFA’s flagship competitions and boosting FIFA’s investment in football development through the Forward Programme.
Gianni Infantino opened the FIFA Congress in Kigali by comparing his victory in 2016 FIFA presidential election to Rwanda’s recovery from genocide.
“Before I became head of FIFA, the Member Associations each received USD $250,000 a year but today I have managed to multiply the amount by seven (7) where each MAs now receives USD $2 million.” He said
FIFA career of Infantino
“It is a historical congress because it is the first FIFA electoral congress taking place in Africa.” – FIFA President also spoke about the uniqueness of FIFA Congress which is being held in Rwanda.
Infantino was a member of FIFA’s Reform Committee. On 26 October 2015, he received the backing of the UEFA Executive Committee to stand for the position of president in the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress. On the same day, he confirmed his candidacy and submitted the required declarations of support. He promised to expand the FIFA World Cup to forty teams.
On 26 February 2016, he was elected FIFA President for a period of three years. Infantino, who holds dual Swiss and Italian citizenship through his parents, became the first Italian to hold the Presidency of FIFA.
In 2017, Infantino criticized the United States travel ban on several Muslim-majority nations. He said “When it comes to FIFA competitions, any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup. That is obvious.”
In 2019 Infantino accepted the Order of Friendship medal given to him by Vladimir Putin, following the 2018 World Cup.
