AKIPRESS.COM - Gianni Infantino was named FIFA’s next president Friday, edging out second-place finisher Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa in an election held in Zurich. Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein and Jerome Champagne finished a distant third and fourth, respectively, reported International Business Times.

Infantino, who had previously served as general secretary of Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), will take over for banned former President Sepp Blatter at the top of soccer’s governing body.

“I cannot express my feelings in this moment,” Infantino said in his acceptance speech. “I told you I went through an exceptional journey, which made me meet many fantastic people, who live and breathe football, and many people deserve to see FIFA is highly respected. Everyone in the world will applaud us for what we will do. Everyone will be proud of what we will do.”

Infantino's term as president runs through 2019.

In the lead up to the election Infantino had proposed instituting term limits for senior FIFA officials and expanding the World Cup to 40 nations from 32. Heading into Friday many considered Sheikh Salman, Asian Football Confederation president and FIFA vice president, to be the favorite.

Blatter had led FIFA since 1998. Amid sweeping charges of corruption against a number of FIFA officials, Blatter stepped down last year and was later banned — alongside former UEFA boss Michel Platini — from world soccer for six years.