Former UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino has been elected as the new FIFA president, having won Friday’s election.
Claiming 115 votes, the Swiss-Italian saw off competition from Sheikh Salman (88 votes), Prince Ali al-Hussein (4 votes) and Jerome Champagne (0 votes).
“I cannot express my feelings in this moment,” Infantino said upon being elected, as reported by the Guardian. “I told you I went through an exceptional journey, which made me meet many fantastic people, who live and breathe football, and many people deserve to see Fifa is highly respected.
“Everyone in the world will applaud us for what we will do. Everyone will be proud of what we will do.”
The 45-year old had been backed by the FIGC in the build-up to the election and has called for greater financial transparency in world football’s governing body.
Recently, Infantino expressed a desire to expand the World Cup to see 40 nations represented, in an attempt to increase the global appeal of the tournament.
