Gianni Infantino has been re-elected as FIFA president until 2027 after standing unopposed at the world football’s governing body’s congress on Thursday.
The 52-year-old Swiss lawyer, who succeeded the Sepp Blatter in 2016, was waved in for a 3rd term by acclamation, just as he was 4 years ago, by representatives from the 211-member federations, according to an AFP report.
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While FIFA statutes presently limit a president to a maximum of 3 four-year terms, Infantino has already set the ground to stay until 2031, declaring in December that his first 3 years at the helm did not count as a full tenure.
Infantino, who strongly defended Qatar’s hosting of last year’s FIFA World Cup as the Gulf state’s faced criticism from certain groups and countries, has overseen the expansion of the women’s and men’s World Cup and huge increases in the organization’s revenues.
Lise Klaveness, Norwegian Football Federation president, had said she would not support Infantino.
However, his mainly European-based opponents were unable to put forward a candidate to stand against Infantino who was once Michel Platini’s number 2 at UEFA.
