22 Facts About Gianni Infantino

Giovanni Vincenzo "Gianni" Infantino is a Swiss football administrator and the current president of FIFA.

Gianni Infantino was first elected to the office during the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in February 2016, was re-elected in June 2019 and in March 2023.

Gianni Infantino is a son of Italian immigrant parents from Calabria and Lombardy in Switzerland and owns the citizenship of both countries.

Gianni Infantino is fluent in Italian, Spanish, French, and German, and speaks English, Portuguese, and Arabic.

Gianni Infantino worked as the Secretary General of the International Center for Sports Studies at the University of Neuchatel.

Gianni Infantino started working with UEFA in August 2000 and was appointed as the Director of UEFA's Legal Affairs and Club Licensing Division in January 2004.

Gianni Infantino became Deputy General Secretary of UEFA in 2007 and Secretary General of UEFA in October 2009.

Gianni Infantino oversaw the expansion of UEFA Euro 2016 to 24 teams and played a role in the conception of the UEFA Nations League and the UEFA Euro 2020, which was intended to take place in 13 European nations before the number was reduced to 11.

Gianni Infantino promised to expand the FIFA World Cup to forty teams.

Gianni Infantino, who holds dual Swiss and Italian citizenship through his parents, became the first Italian to hold the Presidency of FIFA.

In 2017, Gianni Infantino criticized the United States travel ban on several Muslim-majority nations.

In 2019 Gianni Infantino accepted the Order of Friendship medal given to him by Vladimir Putin, following the 2018 World Cup.

Gianni Infantino repeatedly warned Iranian football federation and Islamic Republic of Iran authorities about Iranian women's rights.

When questioned about abuses suffered by migrant workers involved in preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Gianni Infantino said that migrant workers were given work and pay and were proud to contribute to constructing the stadiums.

On November 19,2022, just before the start of the World Cup, Gianni Infantino charged Western countries with "hypocrisy" for criticizing Qatar on moral grounds.

Gianni Infantino was implicated in the FIFA corruption scandal in documents released in the 2016 Panama Papers.

In July 2016, Gianni Infantino was suspected to have broken the FIFA code of ethics and was interviewed by the investigatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee.

When Gianni Infantino accepted special treatment by the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts Russia and Qatar, the question of a potential conflict of interest was raised.

In July 2020 further allegations arose when Gianni Infantino was accused of having a secret meeting with Michael Lauber, the Attorney General of Switzerland.

Gianni Infantino is married to Lebanese Leena Al Ashqar; the couple have four children.

Following, Gianni Infantino then assured that his official residency remains in Canton Zurich and explained the organization of the World Cup in Qatar was in need of his presence there.

Gianni Infantino is a fan of the Italian club Inter Milan.