HARARE: FIFA president Gianni Infantino met Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe on Friday (Saturday in Manila) a day after he attended a birthday party for the country’s football chief, an official said. Zimbabwe Football Association spokesman Xolisani Gwesela confirmed to AFP that Infantino had paid a courtesy call on Mugabe at State House, but gave no details. The 46-year-old Swiss-Italian jetted into Harare from Johannesburg on Thursday to attend the birthday party of Zimbabwe football chief Philip Chiyangwa. CAF did not support Infantino in the 2016 FIFA elections, publicly backing Bahraini Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa instead. Nigerian Football Association president Amaju Pinnick described Chiyangwa as “an astute leader and the future of African football.”AFP

Source: Manila Times February 25, 2017 13:19 UTC