Mexico City (AFP) – Senegalese UN diplomat Fatma Samoura is likely to be named as FIFA’s new secretary general on Friday, which would make her the first female number two ever at world football’s governing body, according to a source close to FIFA.
The historic appointment is expected to be made at the FIFA congress in Mexico City, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
Samoura, who is currently based in Nigeria for the United Nations Development Program, has worked across Africa for the UN for the last two decades.
FIFA’s new president Gianni Infantino, who was elected in February, indicated recently that he would wait until summer to name his number two but the announcement could come during a congress in Mexico City.
A second source confirmed that the new secretary general would be a “woman who is not European.”
The former secretary general, Jerome Valcke of France, was sacked in January and banned from football for 12 years over misconduct in television deals and World Cup ticket sales — one of the many scandals that hit FIFA.
Germany’s Markus Kattner has been serving as interim secretary general since then.
The FIFA congress is due to confirm a series of reforms aimed at cleaning up the organization, which Infantino took over from Sepp Blatter in February after his disgraced Swiss compatriot resigned.
