New FIFA president elected: Gianni Infantino wins in second round

A new FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, a top administrator in European soccer,  has been elected to replace  Sepp Blatter and accepted  most powerful position in world sports to “establish a new era in which we can put football at the centre stage.”

Nyasa Times monitoring on Sky Sports, the elections held in Zurick which Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu voted, the new Fifa president Infantino defeated three other candidates, most notably Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, a member of Bahrain’s royal family.

On the first ballot of voting, when a candidate needed 138 of the 207 votes to win, Infantino received 88; on the second ballot, when only a simple majority was required, he received 115 to claim what many believe is the

In his acceptance speech, Infantino said:“I cannot express my feelings in this moment. 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.”

He said he would want to work with everyone “ to establish a new era in which we can put football at the centre stage.”

Speaking in French, Infantino said:“We need to implement the reforms, but we also need to have respect, the respect that the entire world owes to football, and make sure that finally, once again, we can focus on this wonderful world that is football. I am too moved – let us work together for this.”

Vote results

• Gianni Infantino – 115 votes
• Sheikh Salman – 88 votes
• Prince Ali al-Hussein – 4
• Jerome Champagne – 0

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