Japan FA head Kozo Tashima to stand against Infantino for Fifa presidency
Tashima says he brings ‘honest, sound, upright attitude’ ‘What Fifa needs now are these values,’ he adds The Japan Football Association president, Kozo Tashima, has said he will run for the Fifa presidency in March. Gianni Infantino, who is seeking re-election, has faced opposition since his failed move in July to bring private investors into a new Fifa commercial entity holding rights linked to competitions including the World Cup.
Tashima says he brings ‘honest, sound, upright attitude’
‘What Fifa needs now are these values,’ he adds
The Japan Football Association president, Kozo Tashima, has said he will run for the Fifa presidency in March.
Gianni Infantino, who is seeking re-election, has faced opposition since his failed move in July to bring private investors into a new Fifa commercial entity holding rights linked to competitions including the World Cup.
Tashima told Sports Nippon: “I am grateful that I can make this announcement with the full support of the JFA. It’s not about winning or losing but about conveying to the world the honest, sound and upright attitude that Japanese football has built. What Fifa needs now are these values that we have protected. I have decided to run in order to make this appeal to the world.”
The 68-year-old Tashima is a former Japan player who has been on Fifa’s ruling committee since 2015, when Sepp Blatter was president. He has a reputation as a respected, diplomatic and low-profile official in the often murky world of football politics.
Candidates need formal support from five of Fifa’s 211 member federations, who will vote on 18 March in Rabat, Morocco. They must also pass an eligibility check by a three-member panel appointed by Fifa.
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