Infantino re-elected for third term as FIFA president

Gianni Infantino has been re-elected as the president of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) until 2027.

The 52-year-old Swiss-Italian lawyer secured a third term in office by acclamation after running unopposed at the FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, on Thursday.

Gianni Infantino has been elected FIFA President for the 2023-2027 term of office by acclamation.#FIFACongress pic.twitter.com/akzQV0IMNO

— FIFA (@FIFAcom) March 16, 2023

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The victory makes it the second time Infantino would enjoy an unopposed race to the football’s biggest job.

Speaking on his re-election, Infantino promised to continue serving the sport and all the countries under the federation.

“Being President of FIFA is an incredible honour, an incredible privilege. It is also a great, great responsibility,” he said.

“I’m truly humbled and touched by your support. I promise you I will continue serving FIFA, serving football all over the world, serving all 211 member associations of FIFA.”

Infantino was first elected president during the 2016 FIFA extraordinary congress on February 26, to complete the term of Sepp Blatter, who was forced out of office amid the corruption scandal.

The former UEFA general secretary was then re-elected in 2019.

FIFA had earlier approved the expansion of the men’s World Cup with 40 more matches, starting with the 2026 edition hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico.

The decision would increase the number of matches to 104 instead of the 64 games already proposed with the earlier format.