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President Infantino to stand for reelection unopposed

Zurich, Nov 17 (EFE).- Fifa president Gianni Infantino will run unopposed for reelection when the world’s football governing body holds its next Congress in Rwanda next year, the organization confirmed on Thursday.

In a brief statement, Fifa said the incumbent Infantino, who has been in charge since taking over in 2016 from Sepp Blatter – who had been in charge for 15 years –, was the only candidature that had been submitted since the call for elections in March this year.

Infantino had announced that he would be standing for reelection at that congress in Doha. He also stood unopposed when he was reelected for a second term in 2019.

Infantino became the ninth Fifa president in 2016 when he took over from Blatter following a major scandal that saw several high-ranking Fifa members, including former Concacaf president Jack Warner, be charged with serious corruption offenses in a joint US-Swiss criminal investigation.

While Blatter was not charged, he resigned in 2015 in the wake of the scandal and has been banned from football until 2028. Fifa also fined him 1 million Swiss francs for various ethical breaches, including a payment made to former Uefa president Michel Platini.

Prior to becoming Fifa president, Infantino had served as general secretary at Uefa since 2009, under Platini, who like Blatter has also been banned from football.

Both Platini and Blatter have since been cleared of corruption charges by Swiss authorities. EFE

omm/ks/jt

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