Amsterdam, Feb 16 (IANS) The Dutch football association (KNVB) will vote for Gianni Infantino during the next FIFA presidential elections, it has announced.
With the choice for Infantino as next president of the world football federation, the KNVB follows the recommendation by the European football federation UEFA. The 45-year-old Swiss Infantino is the current general secretary of the UEFA, reports Xinhua.
He stepped forward as candidate after UEFA president Michel Platini dropped out of the race due to his suspension.
According to a statement by the KNVB on Monday, the plans of Infantino are most comparable with the plans of KNVB president Michael van Praag, who pulled out of the race to become the next FIFA president one week before the 2015 elections.
Incumbent Sepp Blatter won the last elections on May 29 last year, but amid the ongoing corruption scandal he announced his farewell four days later.
“The KNVB wants more democracy, transparency and innovation within FIFA and the plans of Gianni Infantino fit well with that,” Van Praag stated.
“Infantino promises a democratic FIFA governance, transparency of financial flows, more money for football development and active testing and implementation of technological developments in football, which are all important for the KNVB.”
The elections for the successor of Blatter will take place on February 26 during the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in Zurich, Switzerland.
The candidates are Infantino, Jerome Champagne (France), Prince Ali Al Hussein (Jordan), Tokyo Sexwale (South Africa) and the favorite to gain most support, Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (Bahrein).