The executive committee of the German Football Association have decided at their meeting in Frankfurt to back Gianni Infantino for the position of FIFA president. The representatives of amateur and professional football in Germany have followed the recommendation of DFB’s vice-president Dr. Reinhard Rauball, who will head the German delegation at the election congress on 26th February in Zurich. On Friday, Rauball and DFB general secretary Helmut Sandrock will travel to Nyon for the General Assembly of International Football Associations in Europe.
Dr. Reinhard Rauball explained: "Gianni Infantino is the candidate with the most backing in Europe, and he is the best candidate - Rainer Koch, myself and the entire committee are in agreement on this point. He is familiar with all facets of football through his work as general secretary of UEFA, is exceptionally well-connected internationally and speaks six languages. With his reputation and experience, he is the right man to lead the restructuring of the organisation and to face future challenges. In addition to a personnel change at the top, there needs to be a concerted effort to reform the organisation, so as to re-establish FIFA’s credibility in the long term."
Infantino (45) has been general secretary of UEFA since 2009. Other candidates hoping to succeed Joseph Blatter include Jerome Champagne (France), Tokyo Sexwale (South Africa), Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa (Bahrain) and Prinz Ali bin al-Hussein (Jordan). The DFB and all other member associations have one vote each.
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The executive committee of the German Football Association have decided at their meeting in Frankfurt to back Gianni Infantino for the position of FIFA president. The representatives of amateur and professional football in Germany have followed the recommendation of DFB’s vice-president Dr. Reinhard Rauball, who will head the German delegation at the election congress on 26th February in Zurich. On Friday, Rauball and DFB general secretary Helmut Sandrock will travel to Nyon for the General Assembly of International Football Associations in Europe.
Dr. Reinhard Rauball explained: "Gianni Infantino is the candidate with the most backing in Europe, and he is the best candidate - Rainer Koch, myself and the entire committee are in agreement on this point. He is familiar with all facets of football through his work as general secretary of UEFA, is exceptionally well-connected internationally and speaks six languages. With his reputation and experience, he is the right man to lead the restructuring of the organisation and to face future challenges. In addition to a personnel change at the top, there needs to be a concerted effort to reform the organisation, so as to re-establish FIFA’s credibility in the long term."
Infantino (45) has been general secretary of UEFA since 2009. Other candidates hoping to succeed Joseph Blatter include Jerome Champagne (France), Tokyo Sexwale (South Africa), Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa (Bahrain) and Prinz Ali bin al-Hussein (Jordan). The DFB and all other member associations have one vote each.