Infantino pledges new era after winning FIFA vote

February 27, 2016

Zurich, Feb 27: Gianni Infantino won FIFA's presidential election and vowed to lead the scandal-tainted body into a new era as he faced immediate calls to ensure genuine reform.

infantinoThe 45-year-old UEFA general secretary scored a convincing victory in the battle to replace the disgraced Sepp Blatter, whose 18-year reign ended with FIFA mired in unprecedented crisis.

Infantino, a Swiss-Italian, defeated Asian rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa in the second round of the vote of 207 members.

"FIFA has gone through sad times, moments of crisis, but those times are over," he said, asserting that a "new era" had begun for world's football's governing body, dogged by a vast set of corruption scandals.

Blatter, who many hold responsible for the culture of patronage and graft that plagued FIFA, congratulated Infantino on his win.

"With his experience, his capacities, his sense of strategy and diplomacy, he has all the qualities to continue my work," Blatter said in a statement.

Infantino got 115 votes in the election's second round while Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman, from Bahrain, got 88. They were just three votes apart in the first round.

Five candidates started the day in contention. Prince Ali bin al Hussein of Jordan and former FIFA official Jerome Champagne saw their support fizzle after the first round, while South African tycoon Tokyo Sexwale withdrew before polling opened.

Infantino said he would have no trouble uniting world football after an election which exposed divides between Europe, Infantino's power base, and voters in Asia and Africa. "Today it was an election but not a war," the new FIFA supremo told reporters. "In an election you win or lose and then life goes on."

Sheikh Salman said he was looking forward to working with his campaign rival, and called for "unity" while stressing that FIFA needed to be more "inclusive and reflect the diversity of world football".

Infantino's election was hailed by world figures such as Russia's President Vladimir Putin and federation chiefs.

Putin, whose country will host the 2018 World Cup, said Infantino comes into the post with "high authority".

The multilingual lawyer takes over leadership of the world's top sport with its reputation at an all-time low.

Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini have been banned from football for six years, US prosecutors have charged 39 people over more than $200 million in football business bribes and Swiss authorities are investigating FIFA's management and the awarding of hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Infantino, who only entered the contest after Platini was ruled out, will also face immediate financial problems.

Acting secretary-general Markus Kattner said "general uncertainty" caused by the crisis meant FIFA was $550 million (500 million euros) behind in its $5 billion budget target for 2015-2018.

The shortfall could complicate Infantino's ability to deliver on a campaign pledge of more than doubling the amount given back to national associations to over $1.2 billion in total every four years.

Hours before he was elected, FIFA members approved a reform package that aims to limit the powers of the new president and to end the corruption that prevailed under Blatter.

The president will become more like a corporate chairman of the board, providing strategic guidance but with less management authority.

FIFA's executive committee, which had become an epicentre of graft allegations, has been rebranded as a FIFA council. It will operate like a corporate board of directors.

Measures such as declaring the salary of the new president to improve financial transparency were also included.

But sponsors gave a cool reaction to the measures. "We urge FIFA's new leadership to prioritise their implementation," major backer Visa said of the reforms.

"As we have said before, we believe it is in the best interests of FIFA, the fans, sponsors and everyone involved, that there is long-term independent oversight of the reforms."

Atlanta-based FIFA backers Coca-Cola said in a statement that deeds, not words, regarding accountability will be the critical factor in judging future support of Infantino's FIFA.

"Under Mr Infantino's leadership, FIFA must regenerate itself," it said. FIFA still has doubters and considerable judicial troubles ahead, particularly from the US investigation with trials that could start this year.

Blatter, 79, the big absentee at the congress, suffered a spectacular fall over the last nine months. He has since been banned from football for six years for ethics breaches and could face criminal charges.

Infantino also faced questions over his UEFA ties to Platini, but offered thanks for the French football legend's years of support.

He also pledged to work "tirelessly" to drag the organisation out of one of the darkest period's in its 112-year history. "You will be proud of FIFA," he said. "You will be proud of what FIFA will do for football."

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News Network
May 19,2020

Karachi, May 19: Babar Azam wants to take a leaf out of Imran Khan's aggressive captaincy and besides cricket, he is also brushing up his English to become a "complete leader" like the World Cup-winning all-rounder.

Last week, the star batsman took over the reins of Pakistan's white-ball cricket after being appointed as the ODI skipper.

Azam, who was one of the world's leading batsmen across formats last year and already the T20 skipper, replaced wicket-keeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed as the ODI captain for the 2020-21 season.

"Imran Khan was a very aggressive captain and I want to be like him. It is not an easy job captaining the Pakistan team but I am learning from my seniors and I have also had captaincy experience since my under-19 days," Azam said.

He said that to be a complete captain one must be able to interact comfortably with the media and express oneself properly in front of an audience.

"These days I am also taking English classes besides focussing on my batting," he said on Monday.

The 25-year-old Babar said he was not satisfied with Pakistan's current standing in international cricket.

"I am not happy with where we stand and I want to see this team go up in the rankings."

Babar said captaincy would be a challenge for him but it would not affect his batting.

"It is an honour to lead one's national team so it is not a burden for me at all. In fact, after becoming captain, I have to lead by example and be more responsible in my batting."

Babar hoped the T20 World Cup is held this year in Australia as he wanted to lead his team in the ICC event.

"It would be a disappointment if the event was not held or rescheduled because I am looking forward to playing in the World Cup and doing well in it," he said.

About plans for Pakistan to fly to England in July to play three Tests and three T20 internationals amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Babar said a lot of hard work and planning would be required to make the players feel comfortable and safe.

"Touring England won't be easy. Health and safety of players is of great importance and the tour will only be possible when proper arrangements are in place," he said.

"Both England and Pakistan team fans, along with the cricketers, are missing cricket because of the pandemic."

"We will still try to perform to the best of our ability despite no support from the fans in the stadium," he added.

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January 6,2020

Jan 6: Former India opener Kris Srikkanth on Sunday said he would prefer K L Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan in the T20 World Cup later this year.

Former India opener Kris Srikkanth on Sunday said he would prefer K L Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan in the T20 World Cup later this year.

Dhawan is returning to international cricket after a long gap. During the senior left-handed batsman's absence, Rahul has emerged as one of the top contenders for the opener's slot in limited-overs cricket.

"Runs against SL (Sri Lanka) don't count. If I was chairman of selectors, I won't pick Dhawan in the T20 WC squad. There is no competition between him and Rahul. Only one winner," Srikkanth said on Star Sports.

Before the series, the 34-year-old Dhawan said that he is looking forward to a "new start" in a new year and wants to win the World Cup for India.

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February 26,2020

Melbourne, Feb 26: On a high after two easy victories on the trot, including one against defending champion Australia, the Indian women's cricket team will aim to inch closer to a semifinal berth when it takes on New Zealand in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup here on Thursday.

The Indians have hardly broke a sweat in their 17-run and 18-run wins over hosts Australia and Bangladesh in their previous two matches, and they are perched at the top of five-team Group A standings with four points from two matches.

A win against New Zealand on Thursday will take the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side on the threshold of a knock-out stage spot, to be competed among top two teams from Group A and B.

In the two matches so far, the Indian team has been impressive both in batting and bowling.

The 16-year-old sensation Shafali Verma has been the standout batter with a whirlwind 17-ball 39 against Bangladesh, following her 29 against Australia.

One-down Jemimah Rodrigues has also been among the runs with 26 and 34 in the two matches so far.

Only captain Harmanpreet, among the top order batters, has not scored big and she is due big innings.

India is also likely to be bolstered by the return of star opener Smriti Mandhana who missed the match against Bangladesh due to fever.

The middle-order has also done its bit with Deepti Sharma playing a major role against Australia with an unbeaten 49 while Veda Krishnamurthy hit a match-defining 11-ball 20 not out for a late flourish against Bangladesh.

The bowling department has been led admirably by seasoned leg-spinner Poonam Yadav -- seven wickets in the first two matches -- with pacer Shikha Pandey ably supporting her with five scalps so far.

New Zealand, though, have a better head-to-head record against India in recent years, having won the last three matches between the two sides.

Exactly a year back, they had beaten the Indian team 3-0 in a three-match T20 International home series.

India will, however, remember their massive 34-run win against New Zealand in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2018 in the West Indies. Harmanpreet had struck a memorable 103 to lead her side to victory.

New Zealand have some top-class players in their ranks in the form of captain and all-rounder Sophie Devine and top-order batswoman Suzie Bates while pacer Lea Tahuhu and leg-spinner Amelia Kerr will lead the bowling department.

They will go into this match on a high after an easy seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Devine had led her side from the front with an unbeaten 75 off 55 balls at the top of the order in that win.

The Teams:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Richa Ghosh, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar.

New Zealand: Sophie Devine (capt), Rosemary Mair, Amelia Kerr, Suzie Bates, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr, Katey Martin (wk), Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Rachel Priest, Lea Tahuhu.

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