UN official named FIFA’s first female secretary general

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The world football governing body FIFA has appointed a United Nations official as its first female and first non-European secretary general.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – The world football governing body FIFA has appointed a United Nations official as its first female and first non-European secretary general.

The ground-breaking move came Friday during FIFA Congress in Mexico City where Fatma Samoura, a Senegalese diplomat of the UN, was named as the first female secretary general in the traditionally male-dominated world football organization.


โ€œWe want to embrace diversity and we believe in gender equality,โ€ FIFA President Gianni Infantino told members of the body, expressing hope that the historic move could help the body to regain international trust and credibility:

Samoura, 54, who is currently working in development for the UN in Nigeria, will replace fired Jerome Valcke if she passes an eligibility check. She was Infantinoโ€™s choice and was approved by a FIFA supervising council before Friday’s announcement.

โ€œShe will bring a fresh wind to FIFA โ€” somebody from outside not somebody from inside, not somebody from the past. Somebody new, somebody who can help us do the right thing in the future,โ€ Infantino said, adding, โ€œShe is used to managing big organizations, big budgets, human resources, finance.โ€

Samoura is also the first non-European to take on as secretary general in FIFA, a key role that is closely linked to the powerful bodyโ€™s commercial deals and broadcasters. Her profile includes proficiency in French, English, Spanish, and Italian, a major compensation for her lack of experience in dealing with financial affairs.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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