Ex-Tottenham and Celtic defender Ramon Vega launches bid to unseat Infantino as FIFA president

Ramon Vega, the former Tottenham and Celtic defender, has formally declared his candidacy for the FIFA presidency, publishing an 11-page manifesto that sets out his challenge to incumbent Gianni Infantino at the election scheduled for March 2027.

Vega, 55, says he has secured strong support within the football community and frames his campaign around restoring trust in FIFA, reforming its governance structures, and ensuring a fairer distribution of the sport’s financial resources. “Football is woven into the very fabric of my being,” the former Switzerland international said. “I’m standing because my life prepared me to serve the game.”

The Swiss centre-back, who lifted the League Cup with Spurs and was part of Celtic’s domestic treble-winning squad, argues that his background bridges two worlds rarely combined at the top of football administration: elite playing experience and a career in international finance and governance. “I was a defender on the field,” he said. “I am ready to defend the game — its integrity, its people and its future.”

Vega has been preparing a FIFA presidential run since 2015. A previous attempt in 2022 ended under what he describes as “difficult and deeply questionable circumstances,” and he says the concerns he raised at that time have only grown more visible across world football in the years since.

“In 2022, I said that when the football community and wider society were ready for real reform, I would be ready to lead and coordinate that change,” Vega said. “Four years later, I am still here. My commitment has not changed, and the time has come.”

His manifesto calls for stronger protections for the independence of member associations, a more transparent and inclusive decision-making process, and a governance model that places fans and players at its centre. He describes the game as currently “facing a serious crisis of trust and identity.”

“I am not standing to continue the war. I am standing to end it,” Vega said. “Football needs dialogue, stability and unity. We may not agree on everything, but we must find common ground and put the interests of the game before individual interests.”

Vega also highlighted the role his wife Claudia would play in his campaign, describing her as a figure who broke barriers in the men’s game more than 25 years ago by working in technical and operational roles across UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, and international competition.