PHOTOS: Police on hand as anti-Salman protesters arrive outside FIFA congress

by
Philipp Schmidli / Getty Images Sport / Getty

While Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa made his final plea to the 207 member associations set to elect a new FIFA president Friday in Zurich, Switzerland, protesters converged outside the Hallenstadion - where FIFA's extraordinary congress is taking place - to make a point of their opposition to the Bahraini candidate.

Human rights organizations claim that Sheikh Salman, considered the favourite to succeed Sepp Blatter as the kingpin of football's governing body, had a hand in the imprisonment and torture of pro-democracy protesters - including athletes - as a means of curbing antigovernment protests against Bahrain's al-Khalifa family in 2011.

Related: Human rights group asks FIFA to bar Sheikh Salman from presidential election

Related - Africa, Asia reaffirm FIFA backing for Sheikh Salman​

The Digest

Complete coverage of FIFA presidential election, Infantino's victory

by
Matthias Hangst / Getty Images Sport / Getty

There's a new chief in town.

Friday in Zurich, Switzerland, to the surprise of many, Gianni Infantino - the amicable Swiss-Italian administrator best known for his oversight of UEFA draws and mastery of several languages - was elected as the new president of FIFA.

Related - Gianni Infantino elected as FIFA president

In succeeding disgraced and deposed president Sepp Blatter, Infantino defeated Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, the Bahraini candidate who went into the day as the consensus favourite to assume the role.

The election required a second ballot, as neither Infantino nor Sheikh Salman garnered the necessary two-thirds majority on the first ballot. That said, the opening ballot did, to the surprise of many, see the European receive 88 votes - three more than his favoured counterpart - which set the wheels in motion for his eventual victory.

His 115 votes easily outdid Salman's 88 in the second round of balloting, which required only a simple majority (104 votes) for a new leader to be crowned.

Here's everything you need to know from FIFA's presidential election:

All about the new boss

Gianni Infantino is moving up in the world. Gone are his ball-handling duties and his need to make unfunny jokes in an effort to fill dead air while on stage at UEFA draws. In their stead, the 45-year-old will now be tasked with overseeing the daily happenings in the world of football, and repairing the reputation of a governing body that has been crippled by corruption. Quite the promotion.

What happened to Sheikh Salman?

Considered the heavy favourite heading into the election, Sheikh Salman's bid to become FIFA's ninth president took a massive blow in the opening round of voting and never recovered.

Prince Ali never had a chance

The real star of the show

Tokyo Sexwale, the South African businessman and former prison mate of Nelson Mandela, delivered the most enrapturing speech of the candidates. He was funny and engaging ... and then he removed himself from the race for FIFA's top role in a brilliant mic drop to conclude his speech - and kick the day's proceedings into high gear.

What else happened at FIFA's extraordinary congress?

The election, though it was obviously the highlight of FIFA's extraordinary congress on Friday, was but one of 12 items on the agenda for football's governing body.

Advertisement