Five months ago, the new FIFA president wasn’t even a candidate for the job. Now, Gianni Infantino is officially the man to replace Sepp Blatter and bring FIFA into a new generation.
With a simple majority of votes in 2nd ballot, Gianni Infantino of Switzerland is elected FIFA President until 2019 pic.twitter.com/PHo0kDaMSW
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) February 26, 2016
“We will restore the image of FIFA and the respect of FIFA and everyone in the world will applaud us and will applaud all of you for what we will do in FIFA in the future,” Infantino said after accepting the job of FIFA president some eight hours after voting began. “We have to be proud of FIFA and everyone has to be proud of FIFA.”
Infantino worked tirelessly in a few short months to secure the votes to become head of the largest governing body in the world of football. He traveled around the globe over the last few weeks, meeting with federation heads to try to garner enough support to win a heated election and become the new face of FIFA.
Number of delegates who voted for Infantino in secret ballot: 115
Number of delegates who are now telling Infantino they voted for him: 207— Leander “same handle *elsewhere*” Schaerlaeckens (@LeanderAlphabet) February 26, 2016
To say this is a surprise is an understatement, given how much support had been given to Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa in recent weeks. Sheikh Salman was the odds-on favorite to win the election, right up until the first round of voting was announced.
The first round was something of a shock, as reports just before the vote was announced suggested Sheikh Salman may have as many as 113 votes of the 138 needed to win outright. There are 207 voting members in this election, and the first round needed a two-thirds majority, with subsequent rounds needing just a simple majority.
In the second round, 104 votes—that simple majority—is all that was needed, so Salman getting past the 104 threshold on the first vote would have been a clear sign that he had locked up the election, with the second round become nothing but a mere formality.
When the first round was announced, though, it was Infantino who had the lead, with 88 votes to Salman’s 85. Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein had 27 votes, and Jerome Champagne had just seven. Tokyo Sexwale, the fifth candidate, had dropped out after a rousing speech that started with him saying he would never drop out.
When Infantino had the lead after the first round, that’s when the horse-trading for those 34 votes started in earnest.
Results of 1st ballot: 27 votes for Prince Ali; 85 votes for Shk. Salman; 7 votes for Jérôme Champagne; 88 votes for Gianni Infantino.
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) February 26, 2016
The second round went Infantino’s way, thanks in large part to U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati, who was seen talking with Infantino during much of the second vote, bringing other delegates to him to converse. The assumption is that Gulati helped deliver many of Prince Ali’s first round votes—of which the USSF was one—to Infantino, to ensure that Salman did not win election. After the vote, Gulati told Grant Wahl of Fox Sports it was, “a good day for the sport.”
http://gty.im/512466002
Salman has been accused of human rights violations for his treatments of footballers in his home of Bahrain and was seen as the last candidate U.S. Soccer wanted to see in office. Gulati is very happy with the outcome, keeping his integrity by voting for Prince Ali, then being in part responsible for delivering Infantino the win.
Of course, Infantino isn’t exactly a real reform candidate. He is as connected to the old FIFA as anyone, going so far as to promise $1.2 billion to “all” the FIFA organizations, suggesting he will spread the wealth evenly, no matter how big the federations may be.
Infantino has been an integral part of UEFA’s inner circle, serving as secretary general since 2009. Of Italian heritage, Infantino was actually born in Brig, Switzerland, less than 10 kilometers from Sepp Blatter’s hometown. Yes, the man who grew up 12 minutes away from Blatter’s home and worked for Michel Platini at UEFA is the next FIFA president.
Reform, here we come!
Results of 2nd ballot: 4 votes for Prince Ali; 88 votes for Shk. Salman; 0 votes for Jérôme Champagne; 115 votes for Gianni Infantino.
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) February 26, 2016
And yet, this should be good for FIFA, and good for the United States, especially if Gulati gets credit for helping Infantino secure the election, which it sounds like he is. With Salman in the lead chair, the United States getting another World Cup seemed highly unlikely. Now, everything is possible.
Everything, including a 40-team World Cup, and idea Infantino supports. Changes are certainly coming to FIFA, and those changes are not just in the lead chair either, as the committee voted sweeping reforms earlier in the day.
A look at some of the key proposals passed with the reforms package. #FIFAelection pic.twitter.com/nrS8VqxaC7
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) February 26, 2016
There will be more oversight, shorter presidential terms and more women included in the council. Oh, and the clandestine FIFA ExCo is now gone, replaced by a bigger, and hopefully more transparent council.
So, goodbye FIFA ExCo, hello FIFA Council. This is what it will look like. pic.twitter.com/SEPX5jLFy6
— Alex Stone (@AlexStone7) February 26, 2016
Maybe it is time for reform.