Gianni Infantino: Five Facts About New FIFA President
It was not until UEFA president Michel Platini was handed a provisional 90-day suspension over a corruption scandal that Gianni Infantino
Europe's Gianni Infantino on Friday won the presidency of FIFA with a convincing win over Asian rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and vowed to lead the scandal tainted body into a new era. (Gianni Infantino Elected New FIFA President, Replaces Disgraced Sepp Blatter in Top Post)
The 45-year-old Swiss-Italian general secretary of UEFA got 115 votes in the second round of the election held at the FIFA Congress while the Asian Football Confederation president got 88.
Here are five facts about new FIFA president Gianni Infantino:
- Swiss of Italian origin, he speaks five languages: Italian, French, German, English and Spanish.
- He studied law at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.
- Before joining UEFA he worked as secretary general of the International Centre for Sports Studies at the University of Neuchatel.
- Joined UEFA in August 2000 and held various roles and positions before working his way up to secretary general in October 2009.
- It was not until UEFA president Michel Platini was handed a provisional 90-day suspension over a corruption scandal that Infantino decided to run for FIFA president, making the announcement on October 26, 2015, after receiving the unanimous backing of the UEFA Executive Committee.