Fifa’s governance and the future direction of world football will be at the centre of a presidential contest after Kozo Tashima entered the race against Gianni Infantino.
The challenge follows Infantino’s attempt in July to bring private investors into a new Fifa commercial entity holding rights tied to competitions including the World Cup, a move that prompted opposition from Uefa. The Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal was abandoned at the end of July.
Tashima, 68, announced at a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday that he would stand against Infantino in March’s Fifa presidential election, with the full support of the Japan Football Association. He is the JFA’s honorary president, a Fifa Council member and a former Japan international footballer and coach.
It is the first time a Japanese candidate has run for the Fifa presidency. Tashima led the JFA from 2016 until 2024, when Tsuneyasu Miyamoto succeeded him.
Miyamoto has described the candidacy as “a major challenge to contribute to the further development of world football.” Tashima said he wanted to convey “integrity, soundness, and high moral standards” to the world and help build a better future for football.
He also said: “It's not about winning or losing but about conveying to the world the honest, sound and upright attitude that Japanese football has built.” “What FIFA needs now are these values that we have protected.”
Ramon Vega, the former Tottenham defender, became the first challenger to declare when he announced his own candidacy in October. Tashima then held talks with Uefa officials at last month’s Asian Football Confederation congress in Tokyo and is understood to have acted with Uefa’s blessing.
At that congress, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, the AFC president, publicly endorsed Infantino after initially appearing to signal potential opposition to the incumbent. The endorsement came two weeks before Tashima’s announcement.
Tashima must secure nominations from five of Fifa’s 211 member associations by the 18 November deadline to take a place on the ballot. Voting is scheduled for March in Rabat.
Infantino, 56, has led Fifa since 2016 and is seeking a fourth and final term. He has the backing of several leading AFC countries, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as Africa and South America, and says he has the “vast, vast majority” of member associations behind him.
Uefa has 55 member associations and is expected to overwhelmingly support Tashima if he becomes Infantino’s sole challenger. Any candidate needs at least 106 votes to win.
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