What is Gianni Infantino's vision for FIFA?
Gianni Infantino’s long-term vision for FIFA is to make football truly global by levelling-up playing and organisational standards across every continent and expanding participation in the world’s most prestigious football competitions: the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
When was Infantino elected?
Since his first election in February 2016, Gianni Infantino’s presidency has focused on bringing wide-ranging reforms to FIFA, expanding global participation in FIFA’s flagship competitions and boosting FIFA’s investment in football development through the Forward Programme.
The Journey to the Top
Infantino’s love for sport and for football/soccer in particular can be traced back to his collegiate days. Despite studying law at the University of Fribourg, Infantino opted to work at the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES), which is based at the University of Neuchâtel, as its Secretary General.
The Scandal That Paved the Way
Infantino’s predecessor, Joseph Blatter (more commonly known as Sepp Blatter), had held the office for 17 years. The disgraced ex-president’s tenure was riddled with claims of financial mismanagement, vote-rigging, bribery, and corruption, all which Blatter consistently denied.
An Unlikely Candidate
Unknown to many, Infantino wasn’t among the initial list of candidates who were in the running to succeed the ousted Blatter.
Accomplishments and Failures
Infantino ran with the promise of implementing reforms that would transform FIFA into a more “credible, trustworthy, modern, professional and accountable organization”. True to his words, Infantino has instituted a number of policies that his fans and critics alike agree will propel the sport of football/soccer forward and upwards.
Accomplishments
Among them are what have come to be known as the “sweeping governance reforms” the bigwig introduced in June 2015. The shot-caller also kicked off the FIFA Forward Programme – a long-term plan aimed at diversifying football “development investment around the world”.
Failures
Infantino has faced his fair share of challenges. He was interviewed by the FIFA Ethics Committee in July after being suspected of illegitimately spending funds but was thereafter exonerated.
Who was the first FIFA president?
Also, that same day, the German Football Association (DFB) declared its intention of affiliating through a telegram. The first president of FIFA was Robert Guérin. Guérin was replaced in 1906 by Daniel Burley Woolfall from England, by then a member of the association.
Who was the president of FIFA in 2010?
After being re-elected as president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter responded to the allegations by promising to reform FIFA in wake of the bribery scandal, with Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, saying there is great expectation for reform. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is being tipped for a role on the newly proposed 'Solutions Committee', and former Netherlands national football team player Johan Cruyff was also being linked with a role.
What was the secret world of FIFA?
In May 2006, British investigative reporter Andrew Jennings ' book Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote-Rigging and Ticket Scandals ( Harper Collins) caused controversy within the football world by detailing an alleged international cash-for-contracts scandal following the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure (ISL), and revealed how some football officials have been urged to secretly repay the sweeteners they received. The book also alleged that vote-rigging had occurred in the fight for Sepp Blatter 's continued control of FIFA as the organization's president. Shortly after the release of Foul! a BBC Panorama exposé by Jennings and BBC producer Roger Corke, screened on 11 June 2006, reported that Blatter was being investigated by Swiss police over his role in a secret deal to repay more than £1m worth of bribes pocketed by football officials. Lord Triesman, the former chairman of the English Football Association, described FIFA as an organization that "behaves like a mafia family", highlighting the organization's "decades-long traditions of bribes, bungs and corruption ".
What is the FIFA Congress?
FIFA's supreme body is the FIFA Congress, an assembly made up of representatives from each affiliated member association. Each national football association has one vote, regardless of its size or footballing strength. The Congress assembles in ordinary sessions once every year, and extraordinary sessions have been held once a year since 1998. Congress makes decisions relating to FIFA's governing statutes and their method of implementation and application. Only Congress can pass changes to FIFA's statutes. The congress approves the annual report, and decides on the acceptance of new national associations, and holds elections. Congress elects the President of FIFA, its general secretary, and the other members of the FIFA Council in the year following the FIFA World Cup.
What are the concerns of FIFA?
Several of FIFA's partners and sponsors have raised concerns about the allegations of corruption, including Coca-Cola, Adidas, Emirates and Visa. Coca-Cola raised concerns by saying "the current allegations being raised are distressing and bad for the sport"; with Adidas saying "the negative tenor of the public debate around Fifa at the moment is neither good for football nor for Fifa and its partners"; moreover Emirates raised its concerns by saying "we hope that these issues will be resolved as soon as possible"; and Visa adding "the current situation is clearly not good for the game and we ask that Fifa take all necessary steps to resolve the concerns that have been raised."
What is the role of FIFA?
FIFA is responsible for the organization and promotion of association football's major international tournaments , notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930 and the Women's World Cup which commenced in 1991.
What is the FIFA?
FIFA ( / ˈfiːfə / French: Fédération Internationale de Football Association, English: International Federation of Association Football) is a non-profit organization that describes itself as an international governing body of association football, Futsal, and beach football. It is the highest governing body of association football.
Who is the President of Liberia?
George Manneh Oppong Weah ( / ˈwiːə /; born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is currently serving as the 25th President of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as Senator from Montserrado County. Often regarded as one of the world's best football players, ...
When was Weah elected President?
Weah was elected President of Liberia in the 2017 election, defeating the incumbent Vice President Joseph Boakai, and sworn in on 22 January 2018.
How many goals did Weah score in his career?
Since making his debut for the Liberia national team against Sierra Leone in 1986, Weah played 75 games over 20 years, scoring 18 goals. Representing one of the smaller nations in world football and perennial underdogs, Weah did much to support the national squad: aside from being the team's star player, he also later coached the squad and even funded his national side to a large extent. Despite his efforts, he was unsuccessful in helping Liberia qualify for a single FIFA World Cup, falling just a point short in qualifying for the 2002 tournament. However, he did help Liberia to qualify for the African Cup of Nations on two occasions: Weah represented his country in the 1996 and 2002 editions of the tournament, although Liberia failed to make it out of their group both times, suffering first-round eliminations.
How many caps did Weah win?
At international level, Weah represented Liberia at the African Cup of Nations on two occasions, winning 75 caps and scoring 18 goals for his country. He played an international friendly in 2018 where his number 14 jersey was retired.
What club did Weah play for?
Weah subsequently played for Paris Saint-Germain (1992–95), with whom he won the Coupe de France in 1993 and 1995, the French league in 1994, and the Coupe de la Ligue in 1995 during a highly prolific and successful period; he also became the top scorer of the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League, with seven goals, after reaching the semi-finals with the club, one of which was a skilful individual "wonder-goal" against Bayern Munich in the group stage, on 23 November 1994. During his time at the club, he also managed to reach the semi-finals of the 1992–93 UEFA Cup, and the semi-finals of the 1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup; in total, he scored 16 goals in 25 European games. In 1994, he won the African Footballer of the Year Award for the second time in his career.
What is the African player of the century?
Widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, in 1995, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or, becoming the first and to date only African player to win these awards. In 1989, 1994 and 1995, he was also named the African Footballer of the Year, and in 1996, he was named African Player of the Century. Known for his acceleration, speed, and dribbling ability, in addition to his goalscoring and finishing, Weah was described by FIFA as "the precursor of the multi-functional strikers of today". In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
Who is George Weah?
George Weah. George Manneh Oppong Weah ( / ˈwiːə /; born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is currently serving as the 25th President of Liberia, in office since 2018. Prior to his election to the presidency, Weah served as Senator from Montserrado County. Often regarded as one of the world's best ...
The Journey to The Top
The Scandal That Paved The Way
- Infantino’s predecessor, Joseph Blatter (more commonly known as Sepp Blatter), had held the office for 17 years. The disgraced ex-president’s tenure was riddled with claims of financial mismanagement, vote-rigging, bribery, and corruption, all which Blatter consistently denied. Blatter had also tried to distance his near two decades-long tenure and the officials who served under him from corruption claims on more than one occasion despite mount…
An Unlikely Candidate
- Unknown to many, Infantino wasn’t among the initial list of candidates who were in the running to succeed the ousted Blatter. Ex-UEFA president Michel Platini was the frontrunner for the position until subsequent investigations into FIFA officials revealed that the former boss had been paid “disloyal payments” totaling to £1.35m by Blatter in 2011 for “work that he had done at FIFA”. Until the findings were made public, UEFA has suc…
Accomplishments and Failures
- Infantino ran with the promise of implementing reforms that would transform FIFA into a more “credible, trustworthy, modern, professional and accountable organization”. True to his words, Infantino has instituted a number of policies that his fansand critics alike agree will propel the sport of football/soccer forward and upwards.
Accomplishments
- Among them are what have come to be known as the “sweeping governance reforms” the bigwig introduced in June 2015. The shot-caller also kicked off the FIFA Forward Programme – a long-term plan aimed at diversifying football “development investment around the world”. Infantino similarly formed a Women’s Football Division and a first-ever Women’s football strategy in May 2018. Arguably his most celebrated accomplishment is the founding …
Failures
- Infantino has faced his fair share of challenges. He was interviewed by the FIFA Ethics Committee in July after being suspected of illegitimately spending funds but was thereafter exonerated. The FIFA boss was also one of the officials named in the infamous Panama Papers scandal relating to his time at UEFA but appears to have successfully distanced himself from the allegations. Some of Infantino’s critics have argued that one of the bigg…