Gianni Infantino

Early life

Gianni Infantino was born on 23 March 1970 in Brig, Switzerland. He is son of Italian immigrant parents from Calabria and Lombardy. He studied law at the University of Fribourg. He is fluent in Italian, French and German and also knows English, Spanish, and Arabic.

Career

Infantino worked as the Secretary General of the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES) at the University of Neuchâtel.

UEFA

Gianni Infantino started working with UEFA in August 2000 and was appointed as the Director of UEFA's Legal Affairs and Club Licensing Division in January 2004. He became Deputy General Secretary of UEFA in 2007 and Secretary General of UEFA in October 2009. During his time there, UEFA introduced Financial Fair Play and improved commercial support to smaller national associations. He oversaw the expansion of UEFA Euro 2016 to 24 teams and played a role in the conception of the UEFA Nations League and the UEFA Euro 2020 that will take place in 13 European nations.

In 2015, the Greek government decided to introduce a new sports law in response to the recent scandal and acts of violence and corruption mainly in Greek football. Gianni Infantino, as UEFA's general secretary, led the negotiations with the Greek government and supported the Hellenic Football Federation's warning to Greece that it faces suspension from international football for government interference.

FIFA

Infantino was a member of FIFA's Reform Committee. On 26 October 2015, he received the backing of the UEFA Executive Committee to stand for the position of president in the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress. On the same day, he confirmed his candidacy and submitted the required declarations of support. He promised to expand the FIFA World Cup to 40 teams. On 26 February 2016, he was elected FIFA President for a period of 3 years. With his election, he became the first Italian to hold the Presidency of FIFA.

Panama Papers

Infantino was implicated in the FIFA corruption scandal in documents released in the Panama Papers. They show UEFA undertook deals with indicted figures where previously they had denied any relationship. Infantino has stated he is "dismayed" at the reports and that he has never personally dealt with the parties involved.

FIFA ethics investigations

In July 2016, Infantino was suspected to have broken the FIFA code of ethics and was interviewed by the investigatory chamber of the Fifa Ethics Committee. The investigation was focused on three areas: "several flights taken by Mr Infantino during the first months of his presidency, human resources matters related to hiring processes in the president's office, and Mr Infantino's refusal to sign the contract specifying his employment relationship with FIFA". Even though a document was leaked which showed illegitimate spending of FIFA funds the matter concerning expenses and governance was not investigated. The document revealed that Infantino had billed FIFA for personal expenses such as £8,795 for mattresses at his home, £6,829 for a stepper exercise machine, £1,086 for a tuxedo, £677 on flowers and £132 on personal laundry. In addition to that he billed the FIFA governing body for an external driver for his family and advisors while he was away.

When Infantino accepted special treatment by the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts Russia and Qatar the question of a potential conflict of interest was raised. The hosts had organized private jets for Infantino and his staff related to visits in Russia and the Gulf state. The investigatory chamber was of the opinion that no violation had occurred. In addition to that the chamber "found that the human resources matters, as well as Mr Infantino's conduct with regard to his contract with FIFA, if at all, constituted internal compliance issues rather than an ethical matter." Even though the investigatory chamber discharged Infantino the critique doesn’t stop. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, a former German football champion, criticized Infantino had not fulfilled his promises regarding transparency, democracy and governance. "So far this has not succeeded in my eyes," he complained.

Personal life

Infantino is married to Lebanese Leena Al Ashqar; the couple have four children. He is a fan of Italian Serie A club Inter Milan.