FIFA Elects New President in Bid to Clean Up Scandal-hit Image

FIFA Elects New President in Bid to Clean Up Scandal-hit Image

LONDON—

Football’s (soccer's) world governing body FIFA has elected a new president after its former leader, Sepp Blatter, was forced to step down last year after being charged with corruption².  New president Gianni Infantino faces a huge task in trying to clean up the body.

Infantino won with a majority in the second round of voting - gaining 115 votes from the representatives of 209 nations.  He pledged to rebuild the scandal-hit organization.

“I want to work with all of you together, with all of you, in order to restore and rebuild a new era in FIFA, a new era in FIFA where we can put again football in the center of the stage," said Infantino.

He promised to make FIFA more transparent³, professional and accountable.

At his first press conference, Infantino also thanked the FIFA team for its hard work during a very difficult time. He said he was looking forward to work with the FIFA staff and all the associations to help grow football everywhere in the world, even where it is not yet a popular sport.     

Infantino will now face multiple FIFA controversies⁴, including criminal investigations⁶ of dozens of officials for corruption.

The awarding of the next two World Cups, respectively in Russia and Qatar, is also under investigation⁵.

Infantino won 27 more votes than his closest rival – the favorite, Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman al-Khalifa.

The Swiss-Italian lawyer was secretary-general of European football’s governing body, UEFA.

His former boss at UEFA, Michel Platini, was implicated⁷ in a $2 million corruption scandal that also swept away the former president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter. Both Platini and Blatter have been banned from football for six years.

That opened the route for Infantino’s shot at the FIFA presidency⁸. 

Sports historian Philip Barker says Infantino has tried to reach out to smaller footballing nations.

“He has also offered to expand the World Cup to 40 teams. A lot of countries are going to be greatly attracted by the increased prospects⁹ of qualifying for the greatest football show on Earth," said Barker.

Hours before the election, FIFA passed a set of reforms aimed at cleaning up its image. It will have an elected council to replace the tarnished¹⁰ Executive Committee – with more female members to boost women’s football.

The salaries of all senior figures will be disclosed.

And the presidency will be limited to a maximum of twelve years. Many believe the reforms don’t go far enough, says Barker.

“Twelve years, there’s still ample time for corrupt¹ practices. Salary disclosure is another one that’s a little bit difficult to pin down. What expenses they take as well as the salary disclosure - that would be a real measure of just how transparent they’re going to be," he said.

U.S. and Swiss prosecutors¹¹ are still investigating - and the full extent of criminal activity in FIFA is not yet known.

The newly-elected FIFA president is fluent in five languages: Italian, French, German, English and Spanish. He studied law at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

Infantino joined UEFA in August 2000 and held various roles and positions before working his way up to secretary general in October 2009.

Before joining UEFA he worked as secretary general of the International Center for Sports Studies at the University of Neuchatel.

Infantino decided¹² to run for FIFA president, after UEFA president Michel Platini was handed a provisional 90-day suspension over a corruption scandal.

He made the announcement on October 26, 2015, after receiving the unanimous backing of the UEFA Executive Committee

1 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

4 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

7 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

9 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

10 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

11 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。