On Friday in Zurich (Switzerland) FIFA presidential elections took place. After the second round, the football world finally elected a new president - it was the Swiss-Italian Gianni Infantino.
The contenders were Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa from Bahrain leading the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Italian Gianni Infantino, the general secretary of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and French diplomat and former FIFA executive from 1999-2010, Jerome Champagne.
To win after the first round, a candidate had to gather two-thirds of all votes. No candidate was able to do that, so the competition moved to the second round.
After the first round, UEFA delegate G. Infantino received the most votes. He got 88 votes, slightly fewer than Al-Khalifa, who was also one of the favorites (85).
27 FIFA Congress members voted for Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, while Frenchman Jerome Champagne received only 7 votes. Remember that just before the elections, South African business magnate Tokyo Sexwale announced his withdrawal.
In the second round, a candidate had to gather at least 104 votes to triumph. G. Infantino got more than needed - 115, while Al-Khalifa received 88 votes. Jordanian Prince got 4 votes, and J. Champagne was left with 0.
G. Infantino will hold the position of FIFA president until at least 2019. He is the first new FIFA president since 1998 when Sepp Blatter began his controversial journey in the world's largest football community.
Results of the first round:
Gianni Infantino - 88 votes;
Salman Bin Ebrahim Khalifa - 85;
Ali bin Al-Huseinas - 27;
Jerome Champagne - 7.
Results of the second round:
Gianni Infantino - 115 votes;
Salman Bin Ebrahim Khalifa - 88;
Ali bin Al-Huseinas - 4;
Jerome Champagne - 0.
