Italian-Swiss Gianni Infantino was re-elected today as FIFA President until 2027, a position he has held since 2016, within the framework of the 73rd. Congress of the highest body of world football that takes place in Kigali, Rwanda.
Infantino, 52, was re-elected without opposition and by acclamation as had happened in 2019 by the delegates of the 211 national federations of the organization, among which was the president of the AFA, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia.
“Being president of FIFA is an incredible honour. It carries with it a great responsibility, I am deeply moved by your support, I promise you that I will continue to serve football and put FIFA at the service of football.. We have promised to work honestly to protect the associations and the fans, because we never have to forget that football is joy, it is peace and it unites the whole world”, he assured before the Congress unanimously approved the points of the annual report of the organism.
The leader could remain at the helm of world football until 2031, since his first three-year term, which he took over when Joseph Blatter was suspended for corruption reasons, is considered incomplete. “I love them,” the Italian-Swiss reacted to the delegates who applauded them standing up, without the voting system allowing us to know if there were dissenting voices.
In your asset, Infantino showed a solid financial balance, with an increase of 18 percent in revenue and 45 percent in reserves in the 2019-22 cycle with respect to the precedent, which allows FIFA to increase its subsidies to the confederations and federations.
“We have worked very hard, we do not steal, we do not benefit. Some write that it’s just about money, that we’re a rich organization proposing a new competition just to make a profit, FIFA is about football but not about money, we need the money to contribute to truly global football.”he pointed.
Now, the main work for the coming years is underway, beginning with the move from the 32 to 48-team Men’s World Cup starting in the 2026 edition, organized by the United States, Canada and Mexico, decided in 2017 and whose format was set on last Tuesday.
By opting for a group stage with 12 groups of four teams, the tournament will go from 64 to 104 games, an endless contest designed to explode economic income. To this is added that FIFA decided on December 16 to extend its Club World Cup from an annual format of seven teams to a quadrennial competition of 32 teams from 2025, a project that Infantino has been trying to launch for a long time to compete with the lucrative UEFA Champions League, but which is announced as difficult to insert into the calendar.
Greetings from Chiqui Tapia
The president of the AFA, Claudio Tapia, congratulated Infantino on his re-election. Through his Twitter account, The Argentine leader assured that it is “a pleasure and a commitment to work together for the most beautiful sport in the world.”
The AFA president participated in the meeting together with the Argentine soccer delegation completed by VÃctor Blanco and Luciano Nakis, secretary and deputy secretary of the AFA, respectively, and David Garzón, president of Huracán, who was invited on behalf of the Professional League .
The president of Conmebol, Alejandro DomÃnguez, also joined in the greetings., a key man in the election that led Infantino to the FIFA presidency in 2016. At that time, when the Swiss leader was still a candidate, he arrived at the Conmebol headquarters in Luque to participate in the entity’s Congress in which Dominguez was named as president. And at the end of the event, the Paraguayan president himself announced South America’s unconditional support for Infantino’s candidacy. “Since 2016 working together for the development of world football. Let’s continue with the commitment to give back to football what belongs to it”, Dominguez expressed