MANAMA: FIFA president Gianni Infantino claimed Monday (Tuesday in Manila) that the finances of football’s governing body were “extremely solid”, despite it posting a $369 million loss earlier this year. Infantino was speaking at the Asian Football Confederation’s congress in Bahrain, a meeting which also saw one of the leading global advocates for reform, Australia’s Moya Dodd, lose her seat on the all-powerful FIFA Council. “In spite of what some have been trying to write or to say, FIFA’s finances are extremely solid,” Infantino told delegates in a short address. Dodd was defeated in the vote for the Council seat reserved for a woman delegate by the largely unknown Mahfuza Akhter Kiron, from Bangladesh, by 27 votes to 17. That meeting was abruptly cancelled after Saoud al-Mohannadi, the Qatar Football Association vice-president, was stopped at the last minute from standing for election.

Source: Manila Times May 09, 2017 15:33 UTC