Japan's Kozo Tashima announces bid to unseat FIFA President Gianni Infantino

In brief

• Kozo Tashima, former Japan Football Association chief and FIFA Council member, will run for FIFA president against incumbent Gianni Infantino.
• The election is set for March 2027, and Tashima says the Japan Football Association fully backs his bid.
• Infantino faces criticism over a World Cup player suspension and a proposal for a separate tournament oversight body.

Tashima enters the race

Kozo Tashima, 68, has announced he will run for the presidency of world football's governing body, FIFA, in the election scheduled for March 2027 (Japończyk rzuca wyzwanie Infantino. Ogłosił start w wyborach na prezydenta FIFA – RMF24) (Fifa: Japans Verbandschef Kozo Tashima will Gianni Infantino als Präsident ablösen – DER SPIEGEL). He told the Japanese newspaper Sports Nippon on Thursday that he is standing. Tashima has been a member of the FIFA Council, the 37-member top decision-making body, since 2015.

Backing from home

Tashima says the Japan Football Association, which he previously led, fully supports his candidacy (Fifa-Führung: Früherer Fußballprofi aus Japan will Infantino herausfordern – ZEIT ONLINE). He framed the campaign less around winning than around carrying what he describes as honesty and integrity into FIFA, values he says Japanese football has built over many years.

Pressure on Infantino

The challenge comes as Infantino, who is seeking a further term, faces growing opposition from several member associations. Criticism of him has centred on the handling of a suspension for a United States player during this year's World Cup and on a proposal to create a separate body to oversee the tournament. The proposal has drawn objections from within the football world.

Key figures

• Election date: March 2027
• Tashima's age: 68
• Years on the FIFA Council: since 2015
• Size of the FIFA Council: 37 members

What comes next

The formal campaign has not yet produced a list of rival candidates beyond Tashima and Infantino in the reporting so far (FIFA-Machtkampf: Funktionär aus Japan will Infantino herausfordern – FAZ.NET). Tashima's candidacy is now expected to be tested in the run-up to the vote in March 2027.