Swiss football body throws support behind Infantino
Switzerland’s football association plans to support Swiss candidate Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency, the head of the association said on Saturday.
Peter Gilliéron, head of the Swiss Football Association, told the Blick newspaper that his organisation’s vote for FIFA president at next week’s Congress would go to Infantino.
“I expect that most of the 54 European federations will vote for [him],” Gilliéron predicted.
The 45-year-old Infantino hails from canton Valais, the same region of Switzerland that scandal-ridden former FIFA president Sepp Blatter comes from.
However, Gilliéron said he did not choose Infantino because he is Swiss, but “because I am convinced of his qualities”.
“He’s a man who can restore confidence to the institution,” Gilléron added.
The Swiss Football Association President considers Infantino and the Bahraini Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa to be the frontrunners in the FIFA presidential election, set to take place in Zurich next week.
Infantino is currently general secretary of the European football body UEFA. He has also worked as an advisor to football bodies in Spain, Italy and Switzerland,
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