Africa-Press – Lesotho. On the 10th anniversary of his election as FIFA President, Gianni Infantino has written to the presidents of each of the 211 FIFA Member Associations (MAs), thanking them for their support and for helping FIFA transform the governance of the world’s most popular sport.
Listing 11 key achievements since he was elected at the Extraordinary Congress in Zurich, Switzerland, on 26 February 2016, Infantino said: “I believe we have successfully brought football back to FIFA and FIFA back to football. And we have done so together.”
Infantino recalled when he was elected, FIFA faced a crisis that threatened its very existence and that, by voting for him, the FIFA Congress chose to chart a new path forward “built on reform, transparency and development”.
He emphasised unity between FIFA and the MAs had been a key to football’s transformation. “It is therefore with a great sense of unity that I would like to extend my deepest thanks for your work, your dedication and, of course, your unwavering support in making this possible and for your role in bringing FIFA back to football over the last 10 years,” the FIFA President said.
He also spoke of the importance of a strong, functioning FIFA to the sport. “FIFA is the glue that binds the footballing pyramid and the wider footballing ecosystem together,” he said, adding that they had also transformed how FIFA was viewed as an institution.
“This is why a strong, trusted and unified FIFA is not only desirable, but also in fact necessary for our sport to continue to flourish.”
