November 5: Japan’s FIFA Council member Kozo Tashima has announced that he wants to run against Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency.
Japanese media are reporting that the veteran soccer politician wants to take on Infantino for soccer’s ultimate leadership role. A member of the FIFA Council since 2015, Tashima was a former international and served as president of the Japan Football Association (JFA).
As quoted by Nikkan Sports, Tashima said: “We must convey to the world that we are honest, healthy and virtuous. I decided to run for FIFA president to appeal to the world of what we have been protecting.”
“It’s not that there’s support. It’s not that there’s a history or that the government is pushing it. The most reassuring thing is that JFA supports me, and I’m very happy to have it. I’m very grateful for today’s decision because I shared that flow.”
Candidates have until November 18 to confirm they want to run against Infantino, who remains under fire over his aborted World Cup liquidation plan but has rejected calls to resign.
UEFA, which is leading the opposition against Infantino, has not yet presented a challenger. Tashima is the first credible candidate to emerge, but he will not enjoy the support of his own confederation after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) swerved to back the current FIFA boss.
JFA vice-president Takeshi Okada, however, resigned from the organization over Asian politics in support of Infantino, saying “sports should represent integrity”.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at samindra.kunti@insideworldfootball.com
