FIFA Introduces New Strategic Aide -- Federations Focus

(ATR) FIFA confirmed to Around the Rings that Norwegian Football Association (NFF) secretary general Kjetil Siem will take on a new role as the director of strategic matters for world football.

Siem will work alongside president Gianni Infantino in his office to oversee the structure of FIFA and consult the president on FIFA’s strategies.

"I am very glad to have Kjetil Siem aboard FIFA," Infantino tells NFF. "He has international experience and has shown the kind of qualities I need around me in efforts to reform FIFA."

Creator of the "Handshake for Peace" initiative while with the Norwegian FA for four years, Siem is also a journalist and former chief executive of the Premier Soccer League in South Africa.

"I'm naturally proud. It is a great privilege to be shown this confidence of the newly elected FIFA president and the exciting challenges the organization now faces," Siem says.

He says his body of work at the NFF along with his support of the Infantino campaign earlier this year contributed to his selection by the president.

"We have had much contact over the last eight months, and the day after he was elected, he said something that could be interpreted as he liked what I stood for and what I did during his campaign," Siem says. "But yes, I am surprised, but more proud and humbled for what he now wants me to go on to do."

"Infantino has initially offered me a role close to him. That means I will be one of those who become involved in his decisions. I will also lead the different processes and projects. So I get some operational mandates."

He says the position he has been given is one of the most exciting administrative positions in international sport.

"The possibility is now large permanent changes and actually delivering on the reforms that are now adopted. And they are revolutionary. And for me it's a privilege to be involved further to try turning it all around, to make light out of the dark."

UEFA Moves on from Platini, Unveils Presidential Election Plan

Theodore Theodoridis and Michael van Praag are set to be favorites to secure the UEFA presidency.

UEFA has confirmed a July 20 deadline for candidates to replace Michel Platini, who quit earlier this month.

A new president of European football’s governing body will be elected by its 55 member federations at an extraordinary congress in Athens on Sept. 14.

Platini’s replacement will finish the Frenchman's term, serving until March 2019, and becomes a FIFA vice president.

UEFA’s executive committee announced the election timetable following a meeting in Basel on Wednesday ahead of the Europa League final between Liverpool and Sevilla.

MMA Federation of Russia joins IMMAF

The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) is welcoming the MMA Federation of Russia (MMAFR) into the fold.

The MMAFR is led by UFC veteran Oleg Taktarov andcomprises 54 regional federations, each with its own office, and a membership of more than 5,000 athletes.

"Russia is vast territory that boasts a wealth of MMA talent and is of political importance," IMMAF president Kerrith Brown said in a press release.

"Further to this the joining of the Russian federation to IMMAF is a big statement, particularly in light of the recent athlete doping controversy in Russia. It is an IMMAF mandate that all affiliates sign up to our Anti-doping policy. By joining IMMAF, the MMAFR agrees for all its athletes to undergo doping controls at IMMAF championship events and demonstrates its commitment to clean sport."

Written by Kevin Nutley and Gerard Farek

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