Infantino Confirms Bid for New FIFA Term
FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced he will run in the 18 March election, pledging to expand opportunities worldwide after France withdrew its backing.
"Of course, I will be a candidate in the elections on 18 March next year," Infantino said, according to Sky Sports. "My slogan is very simple, but at the same time very clear: football belongs to everyone, everywhere in the world. That is what we want. That is what I want. That is what we at FIFA want to achieve."
He set out what he called his aims for the role. "At FIFA we want to make sure that everyone, in every corner of the world, has opportunities. We want everyone, in every corner of the world, to have the resources they need. We want to give everyone the chance to dream, to take part, to play, to improve, and to narrow the gap between the big players and the rest," he said.
The declaration comes days after the French Football Federation pulled its backing for his re-election, citing FIFA governance failures following the shelved private-investment plan. FFF president Philippe Diallo said trust in Infantino "has been lost" and that the current running of the game does not match the federation's vision, adding that a candidate to defend French interests in the vote would be named in due course.
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