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Gianni Infantino has been unanimously re-elected as the FIFA President at the 73rd FIFA congress that took place in Kigali, Rwanda. Infantino stood unopposed in the election.
Upon being re-elected, he said (via ESPN):
"It is an incredible honor and privilege, and a great responsibility, I promise to continue serving FIFA and football around the world. To those that love me, and I know there are many, and those who hate me ... I love you all."
FIFA received record revenues in Infantino's previous spell as president. He is keen to repeat the same feat yet again during his upcoming tenure. Gianni Infantino, 52, said:
"Revenues rose to a record $7.5 billion [in 2022] in a period that was hit by COVID-19. When I arrived, FIFA reserves stood at around $1bn, today they are at almost $4bn, We promise new record revenues for the next cycle of $11bn, and the new Club World Cup is not included in that figure, so it could increase by a couple of billion [more]."
Infantino further added that the governing body would work on improving financial transparency in the football world. He said:
"We must improve our regulations and the FIFA statutes. We will continue to evolve our good governance principles and look at the transfer system, and maybe have a discussion to improve transparency of transfer fees and salaries. It might be necessary to introduce a cap, we have to think how we can do that. We will look at it with all stakeholders and see what we can do."
Gianni Infantino first became president in 2016, succeeding Sepp Blatter.
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter slammed Gianni Infantino last year
Gianni Infantino's manifesto, when he first stood for election in 2016, included a proposal to expand the FIFA World Cup. The proposal has received criticism from various quarters, citing concerns about players' well-being in an already congested fixture list.
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter slammed Infantino's plans, as he said in December 2022 (via Outlook):
“There are attempts to squeeze more and more out of the lemon — for example with the World Cup finals with 48 teams or now with a Club World Cup that must be viewed as direct competition to the Champions League. FIFA is encroaching here on something that is actually none of its business, club soccer.”
However, the proposal for a 48-team World Cup is set to be implemented soon. The 2026 edition in the USA, Canada and Mexico will be the first ever tournament to contain 48 teams.
