FIFA Election: UEFA Backs Tashima to Destabilize Infantino

Kohzo Tashima, honorary president of the Japanese Football Association, officially declared his candidacy for the FIFA presidency at a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday. According to The Guardian, the Japanese official has secured the green light from UEFA, which has led the opposition to Gianni Infantino since his failed attempt to cede World Cup commercial rights to private companies last summer.

“I am grateful to be able to make this announcement with the full support of the Japanese Football Association… I have decided to run for the FIFA presidency in order to defend these values to the world,” Tashima said. A FIFA Council member since 2015, he still needs the backing of at least five of the 211 member associations of the body to validate his candidacy. The candidacy submission deadline is November 18.

Tashima thus becomes the second officially declared candidate against Infantino, after former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega of Switzerland. His candidacy comes amid growing tensions within international football.

Just days before this announcement, at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) congress, its president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa had publicly expressed his support for Gianni Infantino — a notable reversal, given his earlier rapprochement with UEFA and Concacaf in their opposition to the Italian-Swiss official. Tashima’s entry into the race could divide the Asian bloc and complicate Infantino’s calculations, who until now appeared to be in a strong position to secure another term.