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Thu, Mar

FIFA: Gianni Infantino Set To Be Re-elected In June

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FIFA president Gianni Infantino is set to serve a second term as president as there is no challenger in the June's elections according to the organization on Wednesday. 

 

"Following the call for election issued by the FIFA Council on 10 June 2018, FIFA's member associations have proposed, in due time and form, the following candidate for the presidential election to take place at the 69th FIFA Congress in Paris on 5 June 2019: Mr Gianni Infantino," it said in a statement. 

The 48-year-old succeeded Sepp Blatter as the head of world football's governing body in February 2016 has called for a new expanded Club World Cup and a global Nations League tournament which have put him at loggerheads with European confederation UEFA and club organizations. 

However, no candidate from Europe emerged to challenge Infantino, except former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega, though did not get the required support needed, Vega will need the backing of at least five (5) of 211 FIFA members.

The Swiss official beat Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain in the final round of that election after Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein and Frenchman Jerome Champagne had been eliminated. 

Infantino owed his candidacy to the fact that Europe’s preferred candidate, his former boss, and UEFA president Michel Platini, was banned from football along with Blatter for ethics violations. Both men have denied wrongdoing. 

UEFA will hold their own elections at their congress in Rome on Thursday where incumbent, Slovenian lawyer, Aleksander Ceferin is unopposed. 

 
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