Agence France Presse
Zurich, Feb 27: Gianni Infantino who won FIFA’s presidential election here Friday vowed to lead the scandal-tainted body into a new era as he faced immediate calls to ensure genuine reforms.
The 45-year-old Infantino, a Swiss-Italian, defeated Asian rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa in the second round of voting by 207 members. Infantino got 115 votes in the election’s second round while Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman, from Bahrain, got 88. They were just three votes apart in the first round.
“FIFA has gone through sad times, moments of crisis, but those times are over,” Infantino said, asserting that a ‘new era’ had begun for world’s football’s governing body.
Sepp Blatter, who many hold responsible for the culture of patronage and graft that plagued FIFA, congratulated Infantino on his win.
“With his experience, his capacities, his sense of strategy and diplomacy, he has all the qualities to continue my work,” Blatter said in a statement.
Five candidates started the day in contention. Prince Ali bin al Hussein of Jordan and former FIFA official Jerome Champagne saw their support fizzle after the first round, while South African tycoon Tokyo Sexwale withdrew before polling opened.
Infantino said he would have no trouble uniting world football after an election which exposed divides between Europe, Infantino’s power base, and voters in Asia and Africa.
“Today (Friday) it was an election but not a war,” the new FIFA supremo told reporters. “In an election you win or lose and then life goes on.”
Sheikh Salman said he was looking forward to working with his campaign rival, and called for ‘unity’ while stressing that FIFA needed to be more ‘inclusive and reflect the diversity of world football’.
Infantino, who only entered the contest after Platini was ruled out, will face immediate financial problems.
Acting secretary-general Markus Kattner said ‘general uncertainty’ caused by the crisis meant FIFA was $550 million (500 million euros) behind in its $5 billion budget target for 2015-2018.
The shortfall could complicate Infantino’s ability to deliver on a campaign pledge of more than doubling the amount given back to national associations to over $1.2 billion in total every four years.
Infantino also faced questions over his UEFA ties to Platini, but offered thanks for the French football legend’s years of support. He also pledged to work ‘tirelessly’ to drag the organisation out of one of the darkest period’s in its 112-year history.
“You will be proud of FIFA,” he said. “You will be proud of what FIFA will do for football.”
