Senegal’s Samoura, who is the most senior United Nations official in Nigeria, was proposed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino to be his number two at a specially-convened meeting of the FIFA Council.

In an interview conducted by FIFA, Samoura said her main priority was filling strategic positions, namely the chief financial officer and chief compliance officer.

"Those are key positions, for which we really need to identify good leaders, so that we may fully roll out the different programmes and visions of the new FIFA team," she said in between her first working meetings with Infantino and members of staff.

At the end of last month, FIFA director of legal affairs Marco Villiger and former Croatia international Zvonimir Boban were appointed as Samoura’s deputies as part of a restructure within the top brass at the governing body.

Swiss lawyer Villiger is tasked with running the organisation’s commercial and administrative side, while 47-year-old Boban, who scored 12 goals in 51 appearances for his country, will be in charge of the footballing element in a "two-pillar" administration.

The selection of the deputy secretary generals should make up for Samoura’s lack of experience in the commercial and sporting worlds, a key criticism which has been prominent since she was chosen to be Infantino’s second-in-command.

It follows the sacking of previous deputy Markus Kattner, who was relieved of his duties for financial "breaches" linked to his job, thought to involve awarding himself a series of bonuses.

Samoura, 54, was announced as the replacement for disgraced predecessor Jérôme Valcke of France, who is currently serving a 12-year ban for a series of ethics breaches, on the morning of FIFA’s Congress in Mexico City.

It is thought Infantino stunned members of the ruling FIFA Council, the rebranded Executive Committee, when he proposed Samoura for the role at a meeting before the Congress.

Samoura believes it to be crucial to boost the morale at FIFA, which has been at the centre of a string of high-profile corruption scandals over the last year.

"My second priority is to try as much possible to focus on the staff, who have been going through extreme stress over the last 12 months because of the corruption scandals," she said in the FIFA interview.

Speaking generally about her new role, Samoura added: "I want to inject diversity, more equity, a better governance structure, a stronger monitoring and evaluation system and an obligation to inform and report on the good deeds of FIFA."