FIFA Congress Stanley Rous as President. The 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in Zürich elected Gianni Infantino as the new president on 26 February 2016. Only five elections have had two or more candidates: the 39th (1974), 51st (1998), 53rd (2002), 65th (2015), and 2016 Extraordinary Congress. A total of eight extraordinary congresses have taken place: 1908 (Brussels), 1953 (Paris), 1961 (London), 1999 (Los Angeles), 2001 (Buenos Aires), 2002 (Seoul), 2003 (Doha), and 2016 (Zürich). In the 2016 Extraordinary Congress, FIFA President Sepp Blatter would have remained in his position until his successor is elected. However, due to the fact he was suspended,
Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup bid Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup bid Russia announced its intent to bid for the FIFA World Cup in early 2009, and submitted its request to FIFA in time. Russia's President Vladimir Putin has taken a keen interest in the bid and has gone so far as ordering Vitaly Mutko, the Minister of Sports, to "prepare a bid for Russia to hold the 2018 World Cup". According to a report earlier submitted by Vitaly Mutko, who also served that time as President of the Russian Football Union (RFU), the country is ready to spend some $10 billion on the tournament. The