infantino is blatters replacement

Does this really mean anything is going to change,

snouts in the trough


'Infantino is a 45-year-old lawyer from Brig in the Valais region of Switzerland, less than six miles from Blatter's home town of Visp.'

Replaced by a corrupt Italian version of himself. Still better than the torturer from a coutry the size of salford that has had 10 years of football history... serioisly why can't they have someone like Figo or Lampard!

I doubt much will change behind the scenes although a front will be put on. all candidates were affiliated to the old regime. My vote, if I had one would have gone to "champagne", at least some of his ideas seemed more in the way of blogs I have read from journo's & fans alike.

Infantino is just a platini/Blatter mouthpiece. Right up until Platinis conviction was upheld Infantino said he would back Platini's nomination, & so wouldn't stand. He alledgedly spoke 4 times on the  phone to Platini this past week whilst his appeal hearing was being heard.

That alone says it all for me. Agree with Gsus an ex pro who has played the game recently would in my view have more of the games interests at heart than an old bitter has been like platini or an out of touch despot like Blatter.

A bus driver known only as Mr V Kamaraj was said to have been killed by a falling meteorite in the state of Tamil Nadu, southern India, this month. NASA scientists were sceptical.

They usually are with meteorite strikes. There have been no recorded deaths in the modern era, although an Alabama woman, Ann Hodges, did suffer a pineapple-shaped bruise on her left hip when one entered through her ceiling and rebounded off her radio in 1954.

Like Mr Kamaraj, she was minding her own business at the time. Mrs Hodges was asleep on the couch, Mr Kamaraj was washing his face between shifts.

Why are their stories pertinent to this week’s events in football? Well, in Zurich on Friday, FIFA executives were gathered in huge numbers to elect the successor to Sepp Blatter. Never a meteorite around when you need one, is there?

Although not even a space rock the size of that thing in the film Armageddon could realistically do for FIFA. The two life-forms likeliest to survive in a post-apocalyptic landscape are cockroaches and FIFA executives, who will have hoarded all the breathing apparatus, piled into a secret shelter, then struck a deal with the mutant, radioactive insects by promising to let them host the next World Cup.

‘We will restore the image of FIFA and the respect of FIFA and everyone in the world will applaud us,’ said the newly elected Gianni Infantino. ‘I want to work with all of you together in order to restore and rebuild a new era of FIFA.’

And it’s certainly a new era for world football’s governing body. Blatter was a bald-headed, white guy from Switzerland with a background in sports administration, educated at the University of Lausanne and born in Visp in the canton of Valais.

Infantino is a bald-headed, white guy from Switzerland with a background in sports administration, educated at the University of Fribourg and born in Brig, six miles from Visp in the canton of Valais.

The difference is, Infantino is not banned from all football activity for six years following a corruption investigation, like Blatter. No, it’s just his boss, Michel Platini, who is banned from all football activity for six years following a corruption investigation.

Infantino merely stood by his side for the last seven years, and nodded. And the most incredible thing? In the circumstances, he was the least worst option.

The man Infantino beat to the presidency, Sheik Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa of Bahrain, has spent most of his campaign furiously denying links to torture and instructing lawyers to sue those with the temerity to raise the subject. There were two other candidates but they kept talking about transparency and sounded as if they might mean it, so they had no chance.

This left Infantino and Sheik Salman in one of those duels that WC Fields would have insisted should be settled with well-loaded socks of manure.

Greg Dyke, FA chairman, noted that had Blatter stood he would have probably won by a landslide, and he was right. FIFA were mired in corruption when Blatter was elected last year, earning the vote of every country in Africa, plus European giants such as France and Spain. Sheik Salman rallied Asia for him, too.

Blatter, still fighting to clear his name, said last week four of the five candidates had been in touch with him — Prince Ali of Jordan believed to be the exception. Announcing his candidacy, Infantino would not rule out making Blatter honorary FIFA president one day. Reports say the pair met over Christmas, and shared mulled wine, Blatter offering tips on holding office.

Infantino is cosily established inside football’s hierarchy, with all that status entails. His victory has taken the usual route. Plenty of carrot and no stick. An expanded 40-team World Cup, with extra places for key confederations, and increased FIFA funding for individual countries, always popular in Africa and the Americas where many heads of association have put football’s largesse to such inventive use.

The numbers are substantial. Infantino has promised $5m for each of the 209 member countries, $40m for each confederation, $4m for regional youth tournaments and $1m for travel.

‘He has all the qualities to continue my work,’ said Blatter. He meant it as an endorsement. Even kept a straight face, too, just like the rest of them.

Really don't like any of them. It's Quigg vs Frampton again...

The above was from a piece from Martin Samuel who has been heavily involved with writing about FIFA and UEFA's corruption and policies for years.

For me:

I'm really not sure the head of FIFA has to be an ex-footballer. If FIFA and fans require transparency, it should be about the best administrator who can run a large, 'non-profit' organisation....that's what they claim don't they?

Heads of Cancer charities, don't necessarily have to had cancer to run a charity successfully.

With this latest voting nonsense, as mentioned previously by others on here, Infantino is just another Platini/Blatter puppet. He stood there and agreed with everything that Platini did, supported Platini - and now he's been found to be corrupt. That alone, should rule out his candidacy. The fact he has colluded with Blatter since he received his ban, is another. You'd think somebody who wanted transparency within FIFA, would distance themselves from any potential collusion or association with Blatter...but they think themselves as all-powering they can't help themselves.

Blatter is probably still pulling the strings attached to Infantino.

As for the other candidates - none of them were worthy of the position. The only argument you could use was that Prince Ali said he wouldn't want a penny paid to him to run FIFA and also tried to insist on the vote being transparent, using see-through voting booths, and that everybody should know, who voted for who. However, that just seemed to be a Donald Trump-esque approach...."lets do something different to the others candidates".

In theory, I have no issues with having a blind vote...it happens all of the time. The problem is, FIFA had the chance to wipe the floor clean, start again, radicalise how FIFA run the game of football. The very fact that they were adamant to rush through this vote, says all I need to know about what FIFA were, what FIFA are and what FIFA will be like for decades to come.

Got to agree with what he's said there.