The 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress was held at the Hallenstadion in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, on 26 February 2016. This special session of the

FIFA Congress The FIFA Congress is the supreme legislative body of the International Association Football Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Football Association), commonly known by the acronym FIFA . FIFA is the international governing body of ...

, called as a result of the

2015 FIFA corruption case In 2015, United States federal prosecutors disclosed cases of corruption by officials and associates connected with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing body of association football, futsal and beach so ...

, included the passage of a major statutory reforms proposal as well as the election of

Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (); (born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian Association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and the president of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 26 Febr ...

to replace

Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...

as the President of FIFA.

Background

Amid a major corruption scandal at FIFA, incumbent

was re-elected to a fifth term as FIFA President during the 65th FIFA Congress on 29 May 2015, defeating

Prince Ali bin Hussein Prince Ali bin Al Hussein (; born 23 December 1975) is the third son of King Hussein of Jordan, and the second child of the king by his third wife, Queen Alia. He is also the half brother of Abdullah II of Jordan, King Abdullah II. He is a memb ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. On 2 June, Blatter announced his intent to resign, remaining in office until an extraordinary FIFA Congress convened and elected a new president. An extraordinary congress was set for 26 February 2016 by the

FIFA Executive Committee The FIFA Council (formerly the FIFA Executive Committee) is an institution of FIFA (the governing body of association football, futsal and beach football). It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of FIFA Congr ...

in July, who also announced the deadlines for candidates and other necessary procedures.

Reform package

A "landmark" reform package was overwhelmingly approved during the first part of the session by 179 of 207 members. Among the promised tenants is the dissolution of the Executive Committee, to be replaced by a larger FIFA Council selected by regional confederations, as well as imposed

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, w ...

s on executive offices such as the presidency.

Presidential election

Candidates

The deadline for candidates to formally present their nominations, with support of at least of five national federations, was 26 October 2015, 23:59 CET (22:59 GMT).

was also a likely candidate, despite him saying that "I will not be a candidate for the election in 2016." Blatter previously said that he is "not resigning" before the announcement of the election date. On 28 October 2015, FIFA announced the names of the seven candidates to replace Sepp Blatter as its president.

List of eligible candidates

On 9 November 2015, the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee admitted and declared five candidates eligible to stand for election to the office of FIFA President. * Prince Ali Al Hussein, FIFA Vice-President; runner-up in the previous election; re-announced his bid on 9 September 2015. * Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, President of the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

; announced his bid on 15 October 2015. *

Jérôme Champagne Jérôme Champagne (born June 15, 1958) is a former French diplomat. He served from 1983 to 1998, and then became a consultant in international football, serving as an executive at FIFA from 1999 to 2010. He transitioned from diplomacy to footba ...

, former executive at FIFA from 1999 to 2010; announced his bid on 23 October 2015. * Tokyo Sexwale, South African businessman; announced his bid on 25 October 2015. Sexwale withdrew his candidacy after giving his speech. * /

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

General Secretary; announced his bid on 26 October 2015.

List of excluded candidates

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (; born 21 June 1955) is a French association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'O ...

President; announced his bid on 29 July 2015; suspended by FIFA on 8 October 2015; excluded from the presidential race on 21 December 2015 due to corruption and accepting bribes. * Musa Bility, President of the

Liberia Football Association The Liberia Football Association is the governing body of football (soccer), football in Liberia. Its offices are located at Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia. National teams Men's national team The Liberia national football team, Liberian ...

; announced his bid on 26 October 2015; excluded from the presidential race on 12 November 2015 after failing an integrity check. * David Nakhid, former

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

captain; announced his bid on 16 October 2015; excluded from the presidential race on 28 October 2015 for failing to receive the required five declarations of support.

Previously interested in bidding

, incumbent President, suspended by FIFA pending an investigation into ethics violations on 8 October 2015. *

Chung Mong-joon Chung Mong-joon or Chung Mong Joon (, born November 15, 1951) is a South Korean businessman and politician. He is the sixth son of Chung Ju-yung, founder of Hyundai Group, Hyundai, the second-largest South Korean ''chaebol'' before its breakup i ...

, South Korean businessman and politician, banned from footballing activity for six years on 8 October 2015. * Jérôme Valcke, suspended by FIFA pending an investigation into ethics violations on 8 October 2015. * Sheikh Ahmad Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti politician and president of the

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a sports governing body, governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was elected as President of the OCA on 8 July 2023. However, on 3 ...

. * David Gill, British football executive (

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

). *

Michael van Praag Michael van Praag (born 28 September 1947) is a Dutch association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former referee (association football), referee. He was the Royal Dutch Football Association, President of the Royal ...

, Dutch football administrator. *

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-t ...

, retired Portuguese footballer. * Zico, Brazilian coach and former footballer. *

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

, former Argentina national team captain. *

David Ginola David Ginola-Ceze (born 25 January 1967) is a French former professional footballer. A television personality, he has also worked as an actor, model and football pundit. A forward, Ginola played for ten seasons in France with Toulon, Racing Par ...

, former French international player. * Segun Odegbami, retired Nigerian footballer. * Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

(international chess federation).

Results

The FIFA presidential election entered a second round of voting for the first time in 42 years after Gianni Infantino of Switzerland secured more backing than pre-vote favourite Sheik Salman bin Ibrahim al Khalifa of Bahrain in the first round, when a two-thirds majority was required to win. A simple majority of more than 50 per cent (104 votes) was sufficient for victory in the second round.

Reactions

The unexpected victory of Infantino over Salman, named a heavy favorite in the lead-up to the election, surprised some observers; a bloc in opposition to Salman is speculated to have tipped the second round vote in Infantino's favor.

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

president Sunil Gulati and other

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

federations played a key role in Infantino's margin of victory, reportedly shifting their vote from Prince Ali to Infantino after a series of conversations between the two rounds of voting. The second round of voting was the first to be held since 1974. The day prior to the election, Sepp Blatter gave a press interview in which he said that he was leaving the office "a happy man". Blatter later congratulated Infantino, but warned that he must stay vigilant and that in the job "friends become rare".