Gianni Infantino to usher in a new era
On Feb. 26, 2016, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) elected a new president, Gianni Infantino. This vote came after previous head Sepp Blatter and possible successor Michel Platini were both suspended from all football related activities for eight years following corruption scandals.
FIFA has been tarnished by allegations of bribery and corruption for the past 8 months. Since the investigation started, a total of 41 people, clubs, and organizations have had charges laid against them. Gianni Infantino, a 45-year-old Swiss man, announced his candidacy after his mentor Platini was banned last fall.
Interestingly, Infantino comes from a Swiss town that is only six miles from the hometown of previous disgraced president, Sepp Blatter. This could be viewed as a complete coincidence, but less so is the unavoidable fact that Infantino and Blatter both served as secretary generals to the president, whose rule ended in indignity before being elected as the new FIFA boss.
Infantino has been working for UEFA, the European governing body of soccer for over 15 years and is more than qualified to lead FIFA. However, these scandals have led many people to lose their faith in the world governing body and it is unclear if he can re-establish it. Infantino, however, seems confident he can.
“We will restore the image of FIFA, and the respect of FIFA, and everyone in the world will applaud us,” Infantino said, during his acceptance speech after the election in Zurich. “We have to be proud of what we will do together. I want to work with all of you in order to restore and rebuild a new era in FIFA, a new era where we can again put football in the center of the stage.”
Blatter was not able to do better than his predecessor, despite all of his promises. Millions of people around the world are now watching FIFA’s every move, hoping that this will not be the case for his successor. Infantino has a long way to go as he tries to keep his pledge to restore FIFA, and renew soccer as one of the world’s most popular sports.