New fleet of 76 public transport buses starts operation in Jeddah on Tuesday Environmentally friendly electric buses introduced for first time    Foreign investors are allowed to engage in real estate business outside Makkah and Madinah Commercial speculation should not be the purpose of real estate transaction    EU preparing 'further countermeasures' to protect its interest, von der Leyen says    Saudi Arabia urges stronger global action to protect children in cyberspace at UN    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Saudi Arabia posts SR49.8 billion travel surplus in 2024 as visitor spending hits SR153.6 billion    911 emergency centers handle over 2.8 million calls in March    Israel announces expansion of military operation in Gaza to seize 'large areas' of land    US cancels visa of Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias    Danish prime minister refutes US claim on Greenland on visit to the Arctic territory    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Cristiano Ronaldo joins Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves    Saudi Arabia welcomes trilateral border treaty between Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan    Swedish table tennis legend Jörgen Persson appointed head coach of Saudi national team    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Infantino upbeat about FIFA vote after winning support in Caribbean
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 19 - 01 - 2016

FIFA presidential candidate Gianni Infantino says he believes he can win February's vote to replace Sepp Blatter at the helm of the crisis-hit global football body after picking up what he called major support in the Caribbean.
The FIFA election is taking place against the backdrop of a massive corruption scandal which has seen 41 individuals and entities charged in the United States and Blatter banned from the game for eight years.
Infantino attended a meeting Sunday of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), which has 25 votes in the election, and won the backing of Barbados Football Association president Randy Harris. He said he had "excellent feedback" from CFU members.
The president of the CFU, Gordon Derrick, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the meeting.
Swiss Infantino is one of five candidates including Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, former FIFA deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne of France, South African businessman and politician Tokyo Sexwale and Jordanian former FIFA executive committee member Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan.
Prince Ali was beaten by 133-73 votes by Blatter in the last FIFA presidential election in May.
Infantino, who is currently general secretary of European football body UEFA, dismissed speculation of a deal with Sheikh Salman that the pair would avoid direct confrontation between the AFC and UEFA in the vote, possibly with the UEFA official taking on the general secretary role.
"I am going for the win. I am the candidate for the presidency and this support gives me even more responsibility and even more will to go until the end to become president of FIFA," he told Reuters by telephone late Sunday.
"I am candidate for president not for general secretary and I have support from all over the world and many more will come out ... With a lot of respect for all the candidates of course, I am there to become FIFA president," he said.
Harris said Infantino's message about development programs for countries outside the strongholds of football had been well received. "His platform is about football and improving the game and of course a small country like Barbados we need that kind of vision," he said.
Infantino, who said he had proposed increasing funding for development programs, said that Harris's backing was a rare case of an FA publicly backing a candidate in a campaign where most are keeping their cards close to their chests.
"This is certainly a major support from outside of Europe. I think it is the first open support to any of the candidates from outside of their 'own continent'," he said.
The corruption crisis within FIFA has broken apart the longstanding political loyalties within the Caribbean which had previously voted as a block for Blatter.
Infantino said his manifesto plans, which will be unveiled this week, had been at the center of his presentation.
"I spoke about reforms that are needed for FIFA, I spoke about having associations participate much more in FIFA life, for FIFA to become a real democracy," he said. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.