If 2015 was the year that FIFA (or, more specifically, former president Sepp Blatter) imploded under the weight of its own scandals, then 2016 was to be the year that soccer’s governing body got back on its feet and started reforming itself. It remains to be seen how much of that will actually happen, but we found out in February who will be in charge of making sure it does: former UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino.
At the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in February, the Swiss-Italian was a surprise winner in what was the most closely-watched FIFA presidential election of all time.