Gianni Infantino was re-elected this Thursday as president of FIFA until 2027, unopposed in the Congress of the body that governs world football.
The 52-year-old Swiss lawyer, who succeeded Sepp Blatter in 2016, was nominated for a third term by acclamation by delegates from the 211 national federations, just like four years ago.
“I love you all,” Infantino told delegates in the Rwandan capital, where the voting system failed to record the number of dissenting votes.
While FIFA’s statutes currently limit a president to a maximum of three four-year terms, Infantino has already laid the groundwork for him to stay until 2031, declaring in December that his first three years as president would not count as a full term.
Infantino, who championed last year’s World Cup in Qatar when the Gulf state’s treatment of migrant workers, women and the LGBTQ community came under fire, has overseen the expansion of the World Cup for men and women and on major increases in FIFA recipes.
The men’s World Cup will increase from 32 teams to 48 for the next edition in North America in 2026, while the women’s World Cup will feature 32 teams in Australia and New Zealand for the first time later this year.
Infantino also announced a projection of $11 billion through 2026, compared to $7.5 billion in the four-year cycle ending in 2022.
Source: DN
