Gianni Infantino succeeds Blatter as new FIFA President

Gianni Infantino of Switzerland on Friday replaced disgraced compatriot Sepp Blatter as the new FIFA president after winning a second-round vote in Zurich.

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After failing to get the required two-thirds majority in the hotly-contested first round, Infantino secured 115 of the 207 eligible votes in round two to take over the helm of the world football's governing body ahead of Sheikh Salman of Bahrain, Sport24 reported.

Sheikh Salman, who had been viewed as the favourite to succeed Blatter, received 88 votes, while Prince Ali of Jordan got four, and Jerome Champagne of France had zero.

Meanwhile, South African Tokyo Sexwale had withdrawn from the race moments before the first vote.

 

With the win, Infantino, who is the general secretary of UEFA, became the second straight FIFA president from Switzerland.