Gianni Infantino is facing a big challenge as the ‘widely respected’ candidate to become FIFA president.
Kozo Tashima, the honorary president of the Japanese Football Association (JFA), has shared that he plans to run against Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency next year – and it’s said that UEFA supports him.
Tashima, 68, played for Japan’s national team seven times and led the JFA as president from 2016 to 2024. He told the Japanese paper Sports Nippon that his goal is to show the world the honest, fair, and strong values that Japanese football stands for.
He said, “I’m thankful to announce this with full support from the JFA. It’s not about winning or losing but about sharing the sincere and upright spirit Japanese football has built. FIFA needs these values now, and that’s why I decided to run and share them with the world.”
Tashima is the second person to say he’ll challenge Infantino, after former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega announced his plans last month. Notably, The Guardian mentions that Tashima has UEFA’s blessing and is well respected. SPORTbible has reached out to the JFA for comments.
The same report says Tashima has many supporters in Europe and has talked with UEFA officials at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) meeting in Tokyo. Meanwhile, it’s unclear if Vega has the minimum five endorsements from FIFA member countries needed to appear on the ballot.
In October, the AFC said it supports Infantino for a third term as FIFA president, but it’s not clear if Tashima’s run will change that. The AFC has 47 member associations, nearly all of which are part of FIFA.
Japan holds an important place in men’s international football, but they’ve had even greater success in women’s football. The women’s team won the 2011 Women’s World Cup by beating the strong US team and have won the Women’s Asian Cup four times.
They won the Asian Cup again earlier this year, and three players – Yui Hasegawa, Manaka Matsukubo, and Momoko Tanikawa – were nominated for the 2026 Ballon d’Or Feminin. Hasegawa, who plays for Manchester City, just missed making history by finishing 11th – close to the top 10 – as the highest-ranking Japanese player ever.
On the men’s side, Japan has also won the Asian Cup four times and has qualified for every World Cup since 1998. Their star players include Zion Suzuki from Aston Villa, Hidoki Ito from Bayern Munich, Takefusa Kubo from Real Sociedad, and Kaoru Mitoma from Brighton.