Japan's Tashima Rates FIFA Election Chances at 20% to 30% in Challenge to Infantino, Calls Governance FIFA's Biggest Problem
Kozo Tashima, honorary president of the Japan Football Association, set out his platform on Sunday in an interview with Japanese daily Sports Nippon, rating his chances of unseating incumbent Gianni Infantino at 20% to 30% and saying governance was FIFA's biggest problem. Tashima announced on Thursday that he intended to run in next March's FIFA presidential election, becoming the first Japanese candidate to seek world football's top job.
The 68-year-old former Japan international has served on the FIFA Council since 2015 and became JFA president the following year before being succeeded by Tsuneyasu Miyamoto in 2024. He said presidents and international department officials from eight countries, including some outside Asia, had contacted him since his announcement. While he has no formal endorsements yet, he described the response as positive and said he wants support from at least six associations so that incomplete paperwork does not hold him up.
Candidates require nominations from five national associations and have until November 18 to submit them. Infantino, who is seeking a fourth term, came under scrutiny in July after an unsuccessful attempt to bring private investors into a new FIFA commercial entity holding rights linked to competitions including the World Cup. His candidacy received a boost in October when the head of Asian football publicly endorsed him, and support from several confederations has left him well placed among FIFA's 211 member associations.
Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega was the first candidate to publicly declare last month that he would challenge Infantino. Tashima said he would keep what is good and change what is bad, but that governance remains the biggest problem, adding that he hopes to raise his confidence to 40% or 50% as the campaign progresses and truly wants to change FIFA.
(Source: Reuters)
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 日本足协名誉会长田岛幸三（日本内阁官房内阁广报室供图，CC BY 4.0，Wikimedia Commons）/ JFA Honorary President Kozo Tashima (photo by the Cabinet Public Affairs Office of Japan, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
