Gianni Infantino elected as new Fifa president

Gianni Infantino has been elected as the new president of Fifa in the second round of the vote.

Mr Infantino secured 115 votes, having need 104 to win.

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa came second with 88 votes.

Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein received four votes, but there were none for Jerome Champagne.

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• Infantino was born in Brig, Switzerland, on March 23, 1970, and is of Italian origin.

He studied Law at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and is fluent in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.

Before joining Uefa, the 45 year old worked as the secretary general of the International Centre for Sports Studies at the University of Neuchâtel, having previously been an adviser to a variety of football bodies, including the Italian, Spanish and Swiss football leagues.

• Uefa career

Many knew Infantino from his role at Uefa competition draws. Credit: Reuters

Infantino joined Uefa in August 2000 and worked on a range of legal, commercial and professional football matters.

In January 2004 he was appointed director of Uefa's legal affairs and club licensing division, leading the organisation's work in building relationships with the EU, the Council of Europe and governmental authorities.

He was promoted to deputy general secretary before becoming general secretary in 2009.

• Rise to the top of Fifa

In his role as Uefa general secretary, Infantino was best known to many football fans as the man who pulled balls out of glass pots during competition draws.

Just six months ago he remained the low-profile right-hand man to Michel Platini.

He only entered the Fifa race in October, one day before the deadline, as an emergency candidate while Platini was placed under investigation over a payment he received from Blatter.

When Platini was banned from football for six years, Infantino was left carrying the flag for Uefa at the election.

Infantino was right-hand man to Michel Platini when he headed Uefa. Credit: PA

• What now for the new president?

Whoever was elected as the new Fifa president faced a daunting task rebuilding the organisation's reputation.

It has been dogged by corruption claims since the summer of 2015, when US authorities indicted several top officials.

Since then, former president Blatter and Uefa chief Platini have received six-year bans over a "disloyal payment".

Infantino made reference to the dire state of Fifa in his acceptance speech, telling the Congress: "We will restore Fifa and the image of Fifa."

He will now begin his 90-day plan to reform Fifa and has promised to double development money to all Fifa's federations.

Reforms designed to repair Fifa's reputation and prevent future misdemeanours were passed by Congress members earlier on Friday, which some say represents a huge step forward.

Time will tell how much change Infantino can bring to Fifa.

Infantino will now begin his 90-day plan to reform Fifa.