Infantino re-elected as FIFA President until 2027

Gianni Infantino went unopposed for re-election as FIFA President. Tom Dulat – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

Gianni Infantino was re-elected as FIFA President during the 73rd Congress in Kigali, Rwanda on Thursday.

Infantino remained unopposed and made his re-election as chairman of the Football Association a formality, even if he is not universally popular with member associations for a variety of reasons, including pushing a failed plan to play the World Cup every two years.

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The FIFA President opened his speech with an anecdote, describing how he came to Kigali when he first competed in 2016 and almost gave up the race, comparing his refusal to give up to Rwanda’s recovery after his genocide in 1994.

“It’s an incredible honor and privilege and a great responsibility,” said Infantino. “I promise to continue to serve FIFA and football around the world.

“To those who love me, and I know there are many, and to those who hate me… I love you all.”

Infantino confirmed that FIFA’s revenue had hit record levels in the last 2019-2022 cycle, but promised to boost it significantly again due to expanded men’s and women’s World Cup tournaments and the introduction of a 32-team Club World Cup.

“Revenues rose to a record $7.5 billion [in 2022] at a time hit by COVID-19. When I arrived FIFA’s reserves were around $1 billion, today it’s almost $4 billion,” Infantino said.

“We are promising new record revenue for the next cycle of $11 billion and the new Club World Cup is not included in that number so it could add a few billion [more].”

Infantino said FIFA would continue to review the transfer system to “improve transparency” and suggested the organization could discuss a salary cap.

“We need to improve our regulations and FIFA Statutes. We will further develop our good governance principles and look at the transfer system and maybe have a discussion to improve the transparency of transfer fees and salaries.”

“It might be necessary to introduce a cap, we need to consider how to do that. We will look at this with everyone involved and see what we can do.”

Infantino was first elected in an extraordinary congress in 2016 after the resignation of his predecessor Sepp Blatter and retained his office three years later unopposed.

However, this is considered his second term, leaving him available for a third and final term in four years.