Gianni Infantino replaces Blatter as FIFA's President
Gianni Infantino was elected as FIFA's new President by securing 115 of the 207 eligible votes in the second round. Sheikh Salman of Bahrain who was Infantino's arch-rival received 88 votes while Prince Ali of Jordan got 4 votes, and none for Jerome Champagne of France. Speaking after his victory, Infantino said that he will restore FIFA's image and that "world will applaud us".
Prince Ali bin Al Hussein was born on 23 December 1975 in Amman, Jordan. He is the third son of the late Jordan King Hussein and second child of the late Queen Alia. In 2011, he became the FIFA Vice-President of Asia, the youngest board member ever. He is the President of 'Jordan Football Association' and founder and President of 'West Asian Football Federation'.
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is a Swiss association which promotes football globally and organizes tournaments. It has 209 member nations and holds an international football tournament, 'FIFA World Cup' once in every four years hosted by different countries.
In June 2015, Sepp Blatter, the 8th president of FIFA who had been associated with FIFA for four decades announced his resignation amidst the FIFA corruption scandal. He urged the FIFA congress to elect his successor while he would continue in office until the election. Investigations into FIFA's corruption scandal led to Blatter's 8-year ban from football, which was later reduced to 6 years.
One of the five candidates for FIFA Presidential run, Jerome Champagne lodged a complaint in which he stated that two candidates supported by continental football associations seem to have a biased advantage in the poll on 26 February. He persuaded the organizers to cancel the extra observer-passes allotted to UEFA and AFC football organizations. He demanded an immediate action from the FIFA election panel.
One of the FIFA presidential candidates, Prince Hussein, asked FIFA election commission to have transparent voting booths and requested postponement of the election. He said that some of his rivals were trying to persuade or influence the voters from 209 nations, which is unfair. FIFA agreed to ban cell-phones and cameras in the voting booth area but rejected his appeal to postpone the elections.
After FIFA rejected his request, Prince Ali took the case to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) which asked FIFA to respond on the issue. CAS would decide whether to delay the elections or not by 25 February 2016.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected the case filed by Prince Ali for the postponement of FIFA Presidential Elections. After CAS made its decision, FIFA would go ahead with the poll on 26 February to elect FIFA President Sepp Blatter's successor. Prince Ali stated that he just wants the organizers to see that voters do not photograph ballot papers during the poll.
