MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FIFA appoints a woman from Senegal first secretary general

Samoura, 54, spent 21 years working for the United Nations and will start at football's governing body in June.

FIFA has appointed Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura from Senegal as the federation's first female secretary general. She succeeds former FIFA No.2 Jerome Valcke, who was recently banned from football for 12 years for a series of ethics violations.

 Samoura, 54, spent 21 years working for the United Nations and will start at football's governing body in June.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino nominated Samoura during Friday's congress in Mexico City. The proposal was approved. Samoura will now undergo an eligibility check and is expected to start in four weeks' time.

Samoura is currently UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator and UN Development Program Resident Representative in Nigeria.

“She [Samoura] is someone from the outside, not someone from the inside, not someone from the past,” Infantino told the congress.

Infantino said he recommended Samoura because of her “fresh perspectives from outside the traditional pool of football executives,” in addition to her record of integrity and operational experience.

“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,” Samoura said in a statement from FIFA. “I believe this role is a perfect fit for my skills and experience, strategic, high impact team building in international setting, which I will use to help grow the game of football all over the world.”