Former Spurs star suddenly appears to challenge Gianni Infantino for FIFA president spot
Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega is stepping up to challenge Gianni Infantino for FIFA president. Infantino is set to run for re-election at the 77th FIFA Congress in Rabat next March, even though he has faced a lot of criticism recently after trying to sell part of the World Cup to a private investment group. Those plans were stopped after strong pushback from national associations, and UEFA even threatened to boycott FIFA events for a while. That threat was later dropped before the Women’s U20 World Cup in September, but it showed how much opposition there is against Infantino.
Now, just a few months before the Congress, Vega has announced he wants to run for FIFA president for the first time. He had thought about running against Sepp Blatter back in 2015 but decided not to. The 55-year-old shared a strong statement criticizing FIFA’s current leadership under Infantino.
“I want to bring the football world back together, make real and lasting changes, modernize FIFA for today’s game, and restore trust and stability,” Vega said. “Football isn’t about presidents or officials. It belongs to everyone—players, coaches, referees, fans, volunteers, clubs, and communities. It belongs to every child playing the game, every pro representing their country, and all the millions of fans who love football. Football must always come first.”
Along with his announcement, Vega shared an 11-page plan to improve how FIFA is run. He added, “Football is in the emergency room—on life support. We can’t wait any longer. FIFA needs a new path and deep reform.”
If Vega wins, he would be the first FIFA president who also played professional football. He earned 23 caps for Switzerland, spent six years at Grasshoppers, then moved to Serie A club Cagliari in 1996. After that, he played five years at Spurs, scoring seven goals and making 64 appearances. He even started the 1999 League Cup final, which Spurs won—their last trophy for 10 years. Vega also spent time on loan at Celtic and had a short stint with Watford.
After retiring, Vega went into business and tried to buy Portsmouth in 2009, but the deal didn’t go through. Pompey’s owner said Vega couldn’t show he had the funding needed, so the board rejected his proposal. As mentioned, Vega thought about running against Blatter in 2015 but didn’t. After Vega’s recent announcement, Blatter tweeted, “An interesting candidate with a diverse background. Good luck, Ramon.”