Gianni Infantino - what is he, the new president of FIFA?

The era of the permanent president of FIFA Josef Blatter has irrevocably passed. In 2016, the elections of the main football official were held - the president of FIFA became Gianni Infantino. What changes and improvements in the football community will bring this appointment, what are the plans of the president himself?

Who is he - the president of FIFA?

The 9th president of FIFA, a Swiss born in Brigue (Canton Valais) in 1970. Gianni Infantino, whose biography in the sports community began with the arrival of the International Center for the Study of Sport, has also Italian roots, hence his surname. His father immigrated from the Italian city of Reggio Calabria and was engaged in trade in Brig.

By profession, Gianni is a lawyer, knows 6 foreign languages and has dual citizenship (Swiss and Italian). Gianni Infantino graduated from the University of Friborg and received a law degree. Money for higher education from the family of Infantino was not, and Gianni had to moonlight on the railroad conductor to be able to pay for his studies at the university.

As a child, he played in a football club, which performed in the 4th Division of Switzerland, but the dream of becoming a professional football player never materialized. Fortunately, Infantino with a sense of humor reacted to his football abilities and did not become very upset.

Working in the International Center, Infantino was in parallel an adviser in many football leagues in Europe. At UEF, he came in 2000 and initially dealt with financial, commercial and legal problems, as well as the issue of professional football. In early 2004, he was responsible for licensing clubs, then he was Deputy Secretary General of UEFA, and in 2009, in fact, headed this structure. Since 2015, he was on the FIFA reform committee, and in early 2016 was elected president of the organization (115 votes in favor of 207 possible).

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is married to the Algerian Lina Al-Ashkar, they have four children. But this is all dry statistics, but who really is the 9th president of FIFA?

Future plans

Opportunity to stand for this high post appeared in Infantino after his immediate superior and the first applicant from Europe to this position, Michel Platini, was accused of embezzlement and was forbidden to engage in any kind of activity that involves football. Before that, we all saw Gianni Infantino, happily and with a smile, held the draw of the European Cup tournaments.

Despite its roots, support Infantino secured and far beyond Europe. His plans for the development of football look quite progressive and promising, now the main thing is to realize them.

Perhaps the most surprising innovation is that Gianni Infantino plans to introduce into the FIFA Council at least six women. And the head of this department will not be able to hold office for more than 12 years, which was not the case with Blatter.

FIFA has long been debating about the expansion of the number of participants in the world football championships. According to Gianni, such a decision will only promote the popularization of football in many countries, where this sport is just beginning its development. "Euro 2016" in France has already passed in an expanded format, now it's time to take a decision on the World Cup.

Since in recent years there have been many financial scandals around FIFA and some officials have been suspended for misuse of funds, Gianni Infantino plans to make the whole funding system absolutely transparent.

The next point of his reform should be the active participation of players themselves in transfers, he suggests giving more freedom to players in choosing the right club.

What should be the video replay?

Michel Platini did not seek to introduce technical innovations to football, with the help of which it would be possible to facilitate the work of judges and exclude prejudice. Gianni Infantino, on the contrary, is an innovator in this matter. The introduction of the video replay system should be implemented in the coming years, he believes, the fate of the match should not depend on the error of refereeing or bias of the referee.

Gianni Infantino is an Armenian? New sensations

Before the very election of FIFA President in the media, the issue of the presence of Armenian roots in Gianni Infantino was very actively discussed. Surprisingly, even the most authoritative publications caught this "duck". According to Infantino himself, this is nothing more than speculation, and we have no reason not to trust him.