No competitor, no surprises. The Italian-Swiss Gianni Infantino was re-elected Thursday, March 16 by acclamation until 2027 to the presidency of Fifa, which he has held since 2016, at the 73rd Congress of the body in Kigali.

The 52-year-old leader, already renewed under the same conditions in 2019 by the delegates of the 211 member federations, could remain until 2031 at the head of world football, his first three-year lease being considered incomplete.

"

I love you all," the world football boss reacted to the standing crowd, without the voting system having made it possible to count the dissenting votes.

A strong balance sheet and projects

To its credit, the Valaisan can post a solid financial balance sheet, with an 18% increase in revenues and 45% in reserves over the 2019-22 cycle compared to the previous one, which allows FIFA to further increase its subsidies to confederations and federations.

On the governance side, her last mandate was marked by a vast reform of transfers, the institution of maternity leave for professional players and more protective disciplinary procedure rules for victims of sexual violence.

Already, the main projects of the coming years have been approved, starting with the passage of the men's World Cup from 32 to 48 teams from the 2026 edition shared between the United States, Canada and Mexico, decided in 2017 and whose format was set on Tuesday.

By opting for a group stage with twelve groups of four teams, the tournament will jump from 64 to 104 games, a juggernaut cut to explode ticket revenues and attract more and more broadcasters.

More delicate, FIFA decided on December 16 to expand its Club World Cup from an annual seven-team format to a four-team competition with 32 teams from the summer of 2025. A project that his boss has been trying to achieve for years to compete with the lucrative UEFA Champions League, but which promises to be difficult to insert into the calendar.

With AFP

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