Breaking: Gianni Infantino emerges new FIFA president

Switzerland Gianni Infantino, on Friday, was elected the new President of the 112-year-old world soccer governing body, FIFA, for the remainder of the current term of office (until 2019). Infantino was elected by the Extraordinary FIFA Congress held in Zurich, Switzerland, according to Fifa.com. 

New FIFA President, Gianni Infantino He was elected as the 9th FIFA President after the second ballot with 115 of 207 total votes. In line with the FIFA Statutes, the mandate of the new FIFA President started after the conclusion of the Congress. At the beginning of the proceedings, it was confirmed to the Congress that 207 of the 209 FIFA member associations were entitled to vote. The member associations of Indonesia and Kuwait could not vote due to their respective suspensions. 

The candidate Tokyo Sexwale withdrew from the election after his address to the Congress. Earlier in the day, the Extraordinary FIFA Congress approved a set of landmark reforms to FIFA’s governance structure, including improvements to the governance of global football, a clear separation of commercial and political decision-making, greater scrutiny of senior officials, and commitments to women in football and human rights.

Results of the elections for the office of FIFA President:

Ballot 1:

 HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein: 27 votes

Shk. Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa: 85 votes

 Jérôme Champagne: 7 votes

Gianni Infantino: 88 votes

Since there was no two-third majority reached in 1st ballot, the election proceeded to the 2nd ballot, where Infantino emerged victorious.

Ballot 2:

HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein: 4 votes Shk.

Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa: 88 votes

 Jérôme Champagne: 0 votes

Gianni Infantino: 115 votes