Gianni Infantino succeeds Sepp Blatter as FIFA president

Switzerland's Gianni Infantino has been elected as the new FIFA president, succeeding countryman Sepp Blatter. The UEFA secretary general polled 115 votes in round two, 27 more than closest rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain. Prince Ali bin al-Hussein was third with four, while Jerome Champagne failed to get any. Tokyo Sexwale withdrew before voting began in Zurich. "FIFA has gone through sad times, moments of crisis, but those times are over," said Infantino shortly after his victory. "We need to implement the reform and implement good governance and transparency. We also need to have respect. We’re going to win back this respect through hard work, commitment and we’re going to make sure we can finally focus on this wonderful game that is football.” “I want to work with you to establish a new era in which we can put football at the centre stage.” Infantino, 45, is a lawyer from Brig in the Valais region of Switzerland, less than six miles from Blatter's hometown of Visp.