Japan's Kozo Tashima announces bid to challenge Infantino for FIFA presidency

Tashima enters the race

Kozo Tashima, a Japanese football official who has sat on FIFA's Council since 2015, has announced he will stand against Gianni Infantino in the FIFA presidential election in March 2027. The announcement followed a meeting of the Japan Football Association (JFA) on Thursday, 5 November, where board members unanimously backed his candidacy, according to the Independent. Most reports give Tashima's age as 68. He made seven appearances for Japan as a player, later coached the country's youth teams, and in 2013 became general secretary and vice-president of the JFA, according to N-tv. Speaking to Sports Nippon, he framed his bid around values rather than victory.

“It's not about winning or losing but about conveying to the world the honest, sound and upright attitude that Japanese football has built.”

Rules and timetable

To be eligible, a candidate needs formal endorsement from five of FIFA's 211 member associations and must clear a review by a three-member panel appointed by FIFA. Nominations close on 18 November. The vote takes place on 18 March 2027 at the FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco. Infantino is seeking a fourth and final term after being re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023, and he announced in April that he would run again. Ramon Vega, a former Swiss footballer, declared his candidacy in October, although Die Welt reports he had previously failed to gather enough backers. The key dates in the race are set out below.

Infantino's backers and critics

The challenge follows a plan Infantino floated in July to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private investors, which triggered fierce criticism across football. Spiegel reports he apologised for the plan at the October FIFA Council meeting, but his critics were not satisfied. UEFA, whose chief Aleksander Čeferin and German federation president Bernd Neuendorf have sharply criticised Infantino, has still not named a candidate, and Spiegel reported at the end of October that UEFA was close to a decision. The Asian Football Confederation condemned Infantino in August alongside UEFA and CONCACAF before reversing course in October, and its president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, has pledged unconditional support. The African (CAF) and Oceanian (OFC) confederations have also backed him, according to the New York Times. Die Welt reports that Tsuneyasu Miyamoto first promised Infantino his support and then withdrew it after internal resistance.

JFA vice-president Takeshi Okada resigned in October, citing World Cup controversies that he said diverged significantly from his personal beliefs about sporting integrity.

New allegations against Infantino

The New York Post reported that FIFA organised several VIP escorts at Miami airport in Infantino's name, including one trip that involved dogs. According to documents the paper obtained, Infantino's wife and daughters appear 125 times in the airport's protocol records. N-tv reports that the new claims accuse Infantino of abuse of power. The allegations arrive while he is still seeking the backing needed for his fourth term.

What comes next

Tashima must secure the remaining endorsements and clear the eligibility panel before the 18 November deadline. Whether UEFA fields its own candidate before that date remains open. Tashima's camp has presented his bid as a question of values, and he has added that the body needs them now. He said:

“What FIFA needs now are these values that we have protected.”