Gianni Infantino goes for a third term as FIFA president unopposed

Zurich: Gianni Infantino is all set to get a third four-year term as FIFA president. The world football's governing body will hold its annual congress in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Thursday and no one is expected to oppose Infantino.

Delegates from the 211-member federations will be arriving for the 73rd annual meet. They will have limited choices in terms of who is the next president. In 2019, the 52-year-old stood unopposed for re-election and is now set to stay in charge until 2027, reported AFP.

Currently, FIFA limits a president to a maximum of three four-year terms. However, Infantino claims that he will stay till 2031. In December, he said his first three years did not count as a full term. He first took charge in 2016 after a scandal forced Sepp Blatter to step down.

The Swiss-Italian lawyer has been caught in several controversies including defending Qatar's treatment of migrant workers, women, and LGBTQ+ communities. The Norwegian Football Federation has proposed to discuss "FIFA's responsibilities to remedy human rights abuses" in relation to the Qatar World Cup and future tournaments.

Regardless of this, no European opponents were put forward against the current president. He has also delivered on the promises to expand FIFA's tournaments. He also oversaw major reforms like introducing a licence for agents and a cap on agents' commissions. FIFA is now focusing on mandatory maternity leave for pregnant footballers and tougher actions against cases of sexual assault. Revenues of the organisation have increased by 18% and reserves by 45% in the last four years.