Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura,
54, spent twenty-one years working for the United Nations and will start at
football's governing body in June.
Senegal's Fatma Samba Diouf
Samoura has been appointed as Fifa's first female secretary general.
She succeeds former
secretary general Jerome Valcke, who was banned from football-related activity
for 12 years.
"It is essential Fifa
incorporates fresh perspectives as we continue to restore and rebuild our
organisation," said Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
"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."
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.
Blatter, who had led Fifa
since 1998, stood down last year and was later suspended from football for six
years for breaching ethics guidelines.
On his appointment in
February, Infantino said he would "work tirelessly to bring football back
to Fifa and Fifa back to football".
Samoura, who will undergo
an eligibility check before her role is ratified, currently works for the UN in
Nigeria, and speaks four languages.
She started her UN career
as a senior logistics officer with the World Food Programme in Rome in 1995 and
has since served as country representative or director in six African
countries, including Nigeria.
She said "Today is a
wonderful day for me, and I am honoured to take on this role, This role is a
perfect fit for my skills and experience - strategic, high-impact team building
in international settings - which I will use to help grow the game of football
all over the world.
I also look forward to
bringing my experience in governance and compliance to bear on the important
reform work that is already underway at Fifa.
"Fifa is taking a
fresh approach to its work - and I am eager to play a role in making that
approach as effective and lasting as possible."
BBC
No comments:
Post a Comment