“I love you all,” she said Gianni Infantino. And all Fifa candidates love their outgoing and re-elected president. The only candidate, the Italian-Swiss executive, who will be 53 on 23 March, was confirmed by acclaim at the helm of the most important body in football. He will lead FIFA for the next four years, until 2027. The 211 delegates present at the FIFA Congress, underway in Kigali, Rwanda, confirmed Infantino for his third consecutive term. He was first elected in February 2016, then the new four-year term in June 2019 and now further confirmation. But, according to his “enemies”, Infantino’s goal would be to remain president for 15 years, until 2031. During the World Cup in Qatar, the Swiss manager of Italian origin “clarified” to the FIFA Council that his first term (which lasted three years after Sepp Blatter was forced out) did not count towards the 12-year limit dictated by the reforms of FIFA.
The increase in revenues of Fifa
But for now he has no opposition and the proof is the cheering from the heads of the 211 national associations voting in the FIFA elections. A broad consensus especially among the small nations who rely on the millions that Infantino and FIFA will continue to provide them. And growing revenues are Infantino’s true strength. “We promised you the best World Cup ever and we did it – said the president of Fifa in Kigali -, we promised you that we would have increased Fifa’s revenues, that we would have made it more transparent, that we would have regained the trust of the sponsors. We set out to reach 6.4 billion dollars: we have reached 7.5 and these figures are not reached if you are not a solid and strong organization, in which everyone believes”.
“I’m here to organize competitions and help football grow”
“What we promised you was to continue working honestly – added the president -, to protect football, our federations, our fans from all over the world. Football is a symbol of joy, happiness, peace, football unites the world. And there are so many things we can’t wait to do: we are here to organize competitions and make football grow. I hear there is too much football but in most of the world it is not like that and when you see passion for football, you have to do something: the FIFA Arab Cup, for example, was an incredible success.”
The opponents and the clash with UEFA
The support for Infantino is therefore very strong but not unanimous. The criticisms come mainly from Europe and South America, come on responsible for the European championships (Spanish Javier Tebas first), come on players’ unions and by the teams that dominate world football. L’Uefa for some years he has considered FIFA as a competitor rather than a partner. For this he led a battle against Infantino’s proposal, then abandoned, to organize the World Cup every two years instead of four. Infantino and Ceferin (Uefa) clashed for the first time in 2018, when the Swiss executive asked the FIFA Council to grant him the authority to sign a $25 billion contract to create new tournaments. A definitive break between the two presidents was averted only in 2022, when Infantino gave up on his idea of a World Cup every two years.
The appointment of Samoura, the first female secretary general of Fifa
Infantino is well aware, however, that all of these Opponents cannot vote in Fifa elections. And everyone recognizes it great political skill. but also ambition and authoritarianism. He is remembered for having chose an airline low cost for his first official trip as president and not for having chartered a private jet to fly from Suriname to Switzerland in 2017 (investigation closed because “I travel in line with Fifa rules and regulations). He nominated Fatma Samoura as Secretary General of FIFA, for the first time a woman, but then did not delegate her for the final preparations for the World Cup in Qatar. Infantino moved to Doha, the capital of Qatar, and decided everything on his own.
“Culture hasn’t changed”
“The culture hasn’t changed,” he said Miguel Maduro -. What do you see if you look at the Fifa institution from the outside? The vote is almost always unanimous. Outgoing presidents are always re-elected and almost never contested. The presidents themselves extend existing term limits. All this, if it were a state and not Fifa, it would be clear proof that there is a serious democratic flaw in the electoral system and in the organization of the institution”. In 2016 Miguel Poiares Maduro was appointed president of the governance commission, an internal FIFA body wanted by Infantino himself. The task of this body was to supervise the implementation of the reforms, the application of the rules on the suitability of candidates for FIFA positions, the supervision of elections and the promotion of social responsibility and human rights in football. his tenure lasted just eight months.