Regional Reaction to Friday’s FIFA Election
- Updated: February 26, 2016
After nearly two decades of rule under Sepp Blatter, who stepped down from his post amid corruption charges last year, FIFA elected Gianni Infantino as its new president on Friday in Zurich.
Infantino won the election after two rounds of voting, the second of which saw him garner 115 of the 207 votes. The 45-year-old Swiss businessman previously held the title of UEFA general secretary.
“Dear friends, I cannot express my feelings in this moment,” Infantino said in his acceptance speech. “I told you I went through a journey, an exceptional journey, a journey which made me meet many fantastic people — many people who love football, who live football, who breathe football every day, and many people who deserve that FIFA is highly respected.
“And we will restore the image of FIFA and the respect of FIFA and everyone in the world will applaud us, and will applaud all of you for what we’ll do in FIFA in the future. We have to be proud of FIFA and everyone has to be proud of FIFA and we have to be proud of what we’ll do together in FIFA.”
As you might expect, reaction to the news on a number of levels was swift. Locally, Southie FC co-founder and Daily Soccer Digest founder Sean Bakhtiari, as well as Boston City FC CEO Renato Valentim, shared their thoughts on Friday’s developments with NESoccerToday.com.
Bakhtiari: I am very happy with the outcome. Infantino is saying everything I want to hear. He wants to “restore the image of FIFA and the respect of FIFA” and is eager to “implement the reform and implement good governance and transparency.” He wants to “win back this respect through hard work, commitment and we’re going to make sure we can finally focus on this wonderful game.” FIFA needed a change and at only 45 he has an impressive background – UEFA general secretary, a lawyer and sports administrator who joined European football’s governing body in 2000. I am also impressed that in his pre-election speech on Friday, he spoke in five different languages for the first 75 seconds without notes.
Valentim: It is exciting to see this renovation. He is young, and open to changes, and I would like to see that. FIFA needs a clean out to gain credibility, and I hope he can fulfill his promises during his campaign and get the new generation more involved. He definitely brings a new vision for a brighter future for world soccer.
Related Posts
About Brian O'Connell
