2016 FIFA Presidential Election Friday Feb 26,2016 - Gianni Infantino Voted New FIFA President succeeding Sepp Blatter

Gianni Infantino Voted New FIFA President

Gianni Infantino has succeeded fellow Swiss Sepp Blatter as president of world football's governing body Fifa.

The UEFA secretary general polled 115 votes, 27 more than closest rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa.

Prince Ali bin al-Hussein (four votes) and Jerome Champagne (0) were third and fourth respectively.

Beaten opponent Sheikh Salman said that the Asian Football Confederation would look forward to working with the new-look Fifa and its president to reform world football's governing body and to "reinstate football's credibility globally".

German football federation interim president Rainer Koch said: "We are happy and relieved with Gianni Infantino's victory and the fact that European football will continue to have a strong influence."

English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said: "He is not a politician and he is not an ego. Fifa has been dominated by egos for a very long time. He is the type of person who will just get on with the job."

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko said: "I am happy. We supported him from the start. World football needs such a pragmatist."

Gianni Infantino is a 45-year-old lawyer from Brig in the Valais region of Switzerland, less than six miles from Blatter's home town of Visp.

Gianni Infantino entered the presidential race when it became clear that Michel Platini, boss of European football's governing body Uefa, could not stand.
"I will work tirelessly to bring football back to Fifa and Fifa back to football," he said. "This is what we want to do."

Gianni Infantino added: "I feel a lot of emotion and have not realised yet what has happened today. It is still very fresh and it's been a long and exciting journey and I probably need some time to chill out and see what has happened."

The election was due to be fought between five candidates, but South African Tokyo Sexwale withdrew before voting began in Zurich.

The first round of voting failed to determine an outright winner, though Infantino led with 88, three more than pre-vote favourite Sheikh Salman.

A simple majority of more than 50% - 104 of 207 available votes - was sufficient for victory in round two.

Not since 1974, when Joao Havelange of Brazil beat 13-year incumbent Stanley Rous of England, has a second round been needed.

Who are the  FIFA Candidates?

• Tokyo Sexwale, 62, is a South African former government minister
• Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, 39, is president of the Jordan Football Association
• Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, 49, is Asian Football Confederation president
• Gianni Infantino, 45, is Uefa’s general secretary
• Jerome Champagne, 57, is a former Fifa executive

UEFA's Man

Gianni Infantino made his name as UEFA's master of ceremonies but behind the scenes he has also played a key role in giving the European confederation the financial power to rival FIFA while serving as its secretary general.

The Swiss-Italian lawyer is in a close fight to win the presidency, after coming out of the shadows with an ambitious plan for FIFA, including expanding the World Cup and giving more money to federations.

The Sheikh

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa is a football executive and senior member of the Bahrain royal family, whose sister is the wife of the Gulf state's king.

A front-runner, he has built up heavyweight support despite human rights questions shadowing his campaign and has vowed to make FIFA rise like a "phoenix".

The Prince

The brother of a king and an army major general and former FIFA executive, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan won praise for his challenge against Sepp Blatter in FIFA's presidential election last year.

But the frustrated Arsenal fan has struggled to win support this time, campaigning against the "backroom deals" that he says are one of the biggest causes of FIFA's long-standing troubles.

Pele's Choice

Jerome Champagne spent 11 years as a top FIFA official under Sepp Blatter and is not ashamed of the football baron's tainted legacy as his reign ends in disgrace.

Champagne, very much a longshot to become FIFA's leader despite a Pele endorsement, said that "to carry out reforms you have to know an institution from the inside".

Anti-apartheid Hero

Tokyo Sexwale served prison time with Nelson Mandela and became a tycoon and politician, but none of that has boosted his attempt to become the first African to head FIFA.

He has endured constant criticism of his campaign, failing to secure the support of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and he may not even get South Africa's vote.

The 2016 FIFA Presidential Election is to find a successor to the suspended Sepp Blatter, who is under criminal investigation.

FIFA will get a new president on Friday when 209 delegates from around the world gather in Zurich, Switzerland to vote for a successor to Sepp Blatter

From the very beginning, there has been speculation that Mr. Infantino and Sheikh Salman would campaign hard and then, shortly before the election, agree on a deal in which the one with more obvious support would remain on the ballot and the one trailing would step aside, perhaps to fill the vacant No. 2 role of FIFA general secretary.
For the moment, both men are continuing to lobby voters individually. 



In Africa, which with 54 votes is the largest bloc, the lone African candidate, Mr. Sexwale, is believed to have limited support. The African confederation supported Mr. Blatter, who beat Prince Ali in last year’s election, in the past but has not yet endorsed a candidate in this election

To win on the first ballot, a candidate needs two-thirds of the votes, or 139.

On subsequent ballots, a candidate needs only a simple majority