Japan's soccer chief wants to take on FIFA's boss in big election

Kozo Tashima, the head of Japan's national soccer organization, has said he will run for president of FIFA, the group that runs world soccer. Tashima, who is 58 years old, made the announcement in Tokyo on Thursday. He wants to challenge the current FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, in an election scheduled for March. This is a big deal because Infantino has rarely faced any real competition for the job.

Tashima is only the second person to officially say he will enter the race. The first was Ramon Vega, a former soccer defender who played for Tottenham Hotspur in England. Vega announced his candidacy back in October. The deadline for anyone else to enter the race is November 18, and any candidate must also get the support of at least five of FIFA's 211 member countries to be accepted.

Tashima spoke to reporters after a meeting of the Japan Football Association, or JFA. He said his campaign is about more than just winning. "It's not about winning or losing but about conveying to the world the honest, sound and upright attitude that Japanese football has built," he said. He added that he believes FIFA needs those values right now, and that is why he decided to run.

Infantino has been under a lot of pressure lately. Many soccer leaders wanted him to step down after a plan called the FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE, fell apart. That plan would have allowed private investors to buy shares in FIFA's big tournaments, including the famous World Cup. Critics said this was a bad idea, and Europe's soccer governing body, UEFA, led the push to remove Infantino from power.

However, Infantino has since gained support from several powerful soccer groups around the world. The Asian Football Confederation, known as the AFC, as well as the African and Oceania confederations have all said they back him. This support makes it harder to remove him from office, even though he faced strong criticism just months ago. The flip between opposing and supporting Infantino caused tension inside the AFC.

That tension even led to a resignation. JFA vice-president Takeshi Okada quit his position in protest over the failed FFE plan. He stepped down just days after the AFC announced it was switching to support Infantino. This shows how divided some soccer leaders are, even within the same confederation.

Tashima himself has a long history in soccer. He played for Japan's national team, making seven appearances as a player, and later became a coach before moving into management. He has served on the FIFA Council, the group that helps make big decisions for world soccer, since 2015. His background gives him real experience with how FIFA works from the inside.

Infantino has been FIFA president since 2016, when he replaced Sepp Blatter, who left after a series of serious scandals. He ran unopposed — meaning no one challenged him — in both 2019 and 2023. He announced earlier this year that he plans to run again for another four-year term in 2027. But some people say that would break FIFA's own rules.

A lawyer named Miguel Maduro, who once led FIFA's own governance committee, says Infantino is not allowed to run for a fourth term. He pointed to a clear rule in FIFA's rulebook that says no one can serve as president for more than three terms. "Gianni Infantino has been elected three times," Maduro said. He urged critics to challenge Infantino's eligibility at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, an independent court that settles sports disputes.

FIFA has pushed back against that argument. The organization says that Infantino's first stretch in office, from 2016 to 2019, does not count as a full term because of special circumstances. FIFA's council voted unanimously to accept that interpretation back in 2022. Critics say that reasoning does not make sense, and the debate over whether Infantino can legally run again is likely to keep going.