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Non-football background: Qualified lawyer.
He first joined the organisation in 2000, working on a range of legal, commercial and professional football matters, before being appointed as Director of UEFA's Legal Affairs and Club Licensing Division in January 2004.
Gianni Infantino then went on to become interim Chief Executive and Deputy General Secretary before taking up his current role.
Prior to joining UEFA, Gianni worked as the Secretary General of the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) at the University of Neuchâtel, having previously been an adviser to a variety of football bodies, including the Italian, Spanish and Swiss football leagues.
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He is also a cipher, having long chosen to adopt a profile outside the public eye, even as the FIFA campaign gets under way.
In an interview with Rob Harris of the AP, Infantino gave the strong impression that he really didn’t want to be in the FIFA presidential race. He was selected to run for the presidency when it became apparent that Michel Planini would be barred from running, and there would be not a UEFA candidate. Infantino explained, perhaps tongue in cheek, how he came to be the UEFA candidate: “We made a draw and my name came out.”
Infantino holds dual Swiss and Italian citizenship, is trained as a lawyer and has made a career in high level professional staff supporting positions.
He was general secretary of the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) at the University of Neuchâtel before joining UEFA in 2000, holding a number of positions. He has played a role in implementing Financial Fair Play and expanding the scope of the European Championships.
He is perhaps best known for advocating that the World Cup finals expand to 40 teams from the current 32. Infantino has not weighed in on FIFA’s ongoing existential crisis or offered any plans or proposals for reform.