{"id":214157,"date":"2016-05-13T16:55:01","date_gmt":"2016-05-13T16:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=214157"},"modified":"2016-05-13T16:55:01","modified_gmt":"2016-05-13T16:55:01","slug":"fifa-appoints-first-female-secretary-general-to-succeed-jerome-valcke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/05\/fifa-appoints-first-female-secretary-general-to-succeed-jerome-valcke\/","title":{"rendered":"Fifa appoints first female secretary general to succeed Jerome Valcke"},"content":{"rendered":"
Senegal’s Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura has been appointed as Fifa’s first female secretary general.<\/p>\n
She succeeds former secretary general Jerome Valcke, who was banned from football-related activity for 12 years.<\/p>\n
Samoura, 54, spent 21 years working for the United Nations and will start at football’s governing body in June.<\/p>\n
“It is essential Fifa incorporates fresh perspectives as we continue to restore and rebuild our organisation,” said Fifa president Gianni Infantino.<\/p>\n
“She has a proven ability to build and lead teams, and improve the way organisations perform. Importantly for Fifa, she also understands that transparency and accountability are at the heart of any well-run and responsible organisation.”<\/p>\n
Samoura’s appointment, announced at Fifa’s congress in Mexico City, completes a new-look to an organisation which has been dogged by corruption allegations under Valcke and previous president Sepp Blatter.<\/p>\n
Blatter, who had led Fifa since 1998, stood down last year and was later suspended from football for six years for breaching ethics guidelines.<\/p>\n
On his appointment in February, Infantino said he would “work tirelessly to bring football back to Fifa and Fifa back to football”.<\/p>\n
Samoura, who will undergo an eligibility check before her role is ratified, currently works for the UN in Nigeria, and speaks four languages.<\/p>\n