Infantino has yet to convince everyone about his reforming credentials
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FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, says he wants to stand for a second term in office next year. The Swiss national took over from disgraced predecessor Sepp Blatter with the organization mired in scandal.
Infantino, a former General Secretary at UEFA, was voted into the position in February 2016 promising a raft of reforms to end years of corruption at football’s world governing body. He became a last-minute contender for the post after his boss, Michel Platini, bowed out amid claims of corruption.
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The Swiss who would be king of football
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A Swiss citizen from Canton Valais, with a long career in football administration, wants to become President of FIFA. Sound familiar?
“We have a vision for football. We transform FIFAExternal link. We’re taking FIFA into a new era,” Infantino announced at the FIFA Congress in Moscow on Wednesday, the day before the World Cup 2018 begins in Russia. “I announce to all of you – I will run for re-election in Paris.” The election will take place on June 5, 2019 in the French capital.
Under FIFA statutes, presidents can stand for a maximum of three consecutive four-year terms.
Infantino’s early months in the job proved anything but plain sailing. A disagreement over his pay ended with him being awarded an annual salary of CHF1.5 million ($1.5 million) plus CHF2,000 in monthly expenses. He was accused of fiddling expenses, but was cleared by a FIFA investigation in 2016.
Swiss anti-corruption campaigner Mark Pieth accused Infantino of dragging FIFA back to the “Middle Ages” as he orchestrated extra powers for the executive body to be able to hire and fire officers of its independent ethics bodies. That authority was exercised in May 2017 to replace ethics investigator Cornel Borbely and chief ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert – the top figures investigating corruption at FIFA.
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FIFA hands 1,300-page corruption report to Swiss authorities
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“FIFA will now return its focus to the game, for fans and players throughout the world,” said Swiss FIFA President Gianni Infantino, elected last year to replace Sepp Blatter, who is under criminal investigation in Switzerland. In a statement, FIFA said that more than 2.5 million documents were reviewed during the investigation and that the…
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Anne Brasseur, former president of the parliamentary assembly of the Council, told Swiss public television SRF that her working group would examine if FIFA adhered to the good governance rules. She is likely to meet top officials of FIFA within the next several months. Brasseur criticised the slow reform process, saying the new FIFA management…
FIFA chief Infantino seeks ‘absolute power’ after ousting ethics heads
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Swiss law professor Mark Pieth warns that FIFA’s move to remove the heads of the ethics committee means the reform process at FIFA is ‘dead’.
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UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino has been voted in as FIFA's new president, replacing Swiss compatriot Sepp Blatter.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.