Fifa has elected Gianni Infantino, a European football administrator born just six miles from Sepp Blatter, as its new president in a bid to restore the world governing body’s reputational damage overseen by his disgraced predecessor.

Gianni Infantino, a candidate for the position of FIFA president, visited South Sudan’s capital Juba on early February and managed to secure the support of the South Sudan Football Association in his bid to become head of the global football society.

During his visit in the country, Gianni was accompanied by the former Cameroonian national football player Geremi Njitap. He said that he would put the subject of football development, especially for women in South Sudan, for consideration.

At a press conference in Juba, Gianni said if he becomes president of FIFA, he will aim to put two additional African teams in the FIFA World Cup, and he will increase from 4 to 7 African members including at least one woman on the FIFA’s Executive Committee.

He said also he will engage the South Sudan football association on participation in strategic annual meetings for top executives defining the strategy and priorities of FIFA, and make FIFA ready to listen to South Sudan at all times with dedicated contact persons.

Gianni Infantino is 45 years old, a Swiss football administrator of Italian origin. He has been the general secretary of UEFA, the administrative body for association football in Europe, since 2009 and holds both Swiss and Italian nationality.

On 26 October 2015, Infantino received the full backing of the UEFA Executive Committee to stand for the position of FIFA president in the upcoming FIFA Extraordinary Congress.