Kozo Tashima seeks endorsements for FIFA presidency challenge to Infantino

Kozo Tashima says he has received encouraging responses from national associations as he seeks the backing needed to challenge Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency. In an interview with BBC Sport, the honorary president of the Japan Football Association outlined a campaign focused on governance reform ahead of the election in Morocco in March. He has not yet confirmed securing the five required endorsements.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl7pUeU27Jk

Tashima, 68, is a member of the FIFA Council and a former player. He told the BBC he was confident about obtaining enough support to enter the contest, having already approached some member associations. That remains a separate hurdle from winning the presidency: Infantino has led FIFA for a decade and told BBC Sport last month that he believed an overwhelming majority of world football supported him.

The Japanese official said his decision to pursue the presidency was driven by dissatisfaction with recent events at FIFA. He pointed to the cancellation of United States forward Folarin Balogun's World Cup suspension and an abandoned proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. According to the BBC's report, the Balogun episode involved US President Donald Trump calling Infantino to request a review of the ban.

Tashima argued that questions about the suspension decision remained unanswered by Infantino. More broadly, he said FIFA needed to review its systems and strengthen its governance, with football taking priority. He described fair play, integrity and wider access to the game as central to his approach, drawing on more than 20 years of experience across the Japanese association, the Asian Football Confederation and FIFA.

Another prospective candidate is former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega, who announced his intention to stand last month. Vega told BBC Sport he had more than five endorsements, but did not identify the associations involved. He has attempted to run on three previous occasions, each time failing to obtain the backing of five associations needed to proceed.

Eligibility is another requirement for anyone seeking the office. Candidates must demonstrate active involvement in football during two of the previous five years, the BBC reported. Vega believes his position as a club shareholder makes him eligible. For Tashima, the immediate task is to turn the positive responses he described into the endorsements required for a place in the election.