The era of FIFA permanent president Joseph Blatter has irrevocably passed. In 2016, the election of the main football official was held - Gianni Infantino became the president of FIFA. What changes and improvements in football society will this appointment bring, what plans does the president have?
Who is he the president of FIFA?
9th FIFA president, Swiss, born in Brig (canton of Valais) in 1970. Gianni Infantino, whose biography in the sports community began with the arrival at the International Center for the Study of Sports, also has Italian roots, hence his last name. His father immigrated from the Italian city of Reggio Calabria and was engaged in trade in Brig.
By profession, Gianni is a lawyer, knows 6 foreign languages โโand has dual citizenship (Swiss and Italian). Gianni Infantino graduated from the University of Friborg and received a law degree. The Infantino family did not have money for higher education, and Gianni had to work as a guide on the railway in order to be able to pay for university studies.
As a child, he played in a football club that played in the 4th division of Switzerland, but the dream of becoming a professional footballer never came true. Fortunately, Infantino with a share of humor reacted to his footballing abilities and did not become very upset.
Working at the International Center, Infantino was also an adviser in many European football leagues. He joined UEFA in 2000 and was initially involved in solving financial, commercial and legal problems, as well as the issue of professional football. In early 2004, he was responsible for licensing clubs, then he was the Deputy Secretary General of UEFA, and in 2009, in fact, headed this structure. Since 2015, he was a member of the FIFA reform committee, and in early 2016 he was elected president of this organization (115 votes in favor of 207 out of the possible).
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is married to Algerian Lina Al-Ashkar, they have four children. But these are all dry statistics, but who exactly is the 9th president of FIFA?
Future plans
Infantino got the opportunity to run for this high post after his direct boss and Europeโs first contender, Michel Platini, was accused of embezzlement and was forbidden to engage in any type of activity related to football. Before that, we all saw Gianni Infantino, joyfully and with a smile, conducting the draw of the European Cup tournaments.
Despite its roots, Infantino secured support far beyond Europe. His plans for the development of football look rather progressive and promising, now the main thing is to implement them.
Perhaps the most unexpected innovation is that Gianni Infantino plans to bring at least six women to the FIFA council. And the head of this department will not be able to hold his post for more than 12 years, which was not the case with Blatter.
FIFA has long had a debate about expanding the number of participants in world football championships. According to Gianni, such a decision will only contribute to the popularization of football in many countries where this sport is just beginning to develop. Euro 2016 in France has already been held in an expanded format, now it is time to make a decision on the World Cup.
Since in recent years there have been many financial scandals around FIFA and some officials have been suspended for misuse of funds, Gianni Infantino plans to make the entire financing system completely transparent.
The next point of his reform should be the active participation of the players themselves in transfers, he proposes to give more freedom to players in choosing a suitable club.
To be repeated?
Michel Platini did not seek the introduction of technical innovations in football, with the help of which it would be possible to facilitate the work of referees and eliminate prejudice. Gianni Infantino, on the contrary, is an innovator in this matter. The introduction of a video replay system should be implemented in the coming years, he said, the fate of the match should not depend on the error of refereeing or the bias of the referee.
Gianni Infantino - Armenian? New sensations
Before the FIFA presidential election, the media actively discussed the issue of the presence of Armenian roots in Gianni Infantino. Surprisingly, even very authoritative publications came across this โduckโ. According to Infantino himself, this is nothing more than speculation, and we have no reason not to trust him.