Japan FA’s Kozo Tashima to stand against Infantino for Fifa presidency

The Japan Football Association’s honorary president, Kozo Tashima, ⁠has announced his intention to stand against Gianni Infantino in March’s Fifa presidential election.

Tashima is the second challenger to declare in advance of the 18 November deadline after the former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega, although it remains unclear whether Vega has the backing of five of Fifa’s 211 member associations, which is required to take a place on the ballot in Rabat.

The widely respected Tashima will have no problem in securing the nominations and is understood to have acted with the blessing of Uefa, which has led the opposition to Infantino after his failed attempt to sell off a 20% stake in Fifa’s commercial rights this summer.

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The former Japan international has many allies in Europe and had talks with Uefa officials at last month’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) congress in Tokyo.

“I am grateful that I can make this announcement with the full support of the Japan Football Association,” Tashima told the Japanese newspaper Sports Nippon. “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 declaration is an intriguing development after the AFC congress concluded with its president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, publicly endorsing Infantino in a major U-turn, having previously sided with Uefa and Concacaf – the North and Central American and Caribbean confederation – in attempting to depose him.

Tashima could split the AFC vote and is certain to pick up votes from Europe and Concacaf, although other candidates could emerge.

Uefa has spent months attempting to find a candidate to stand against Infantino, but may have concluded that a non-European challenger will fare better owing to widespread resentment about its perceived dominance of the sport.

Infantino has the backing of several leading countries in the AFC, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and of Africa and South America, so is expected to canter towards the 106 votes required to be re-elected for a fourth term.