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Japan’s Tashima rates FIFA election chances at 20%-30% in challenge to Infantino
Japan Football Association honorary president Kozo Tashima says FIFA’s governance is its biggest problem as he sets out to challenge Gianni Infantino in next year’s presidential election. He puts his current chances of winning at 20 to 30 per cent, but says he hopes to build confidence as the campaign progresses.
Tashima, 68, announced his intention to run on Thursday and is the first Japanese candidate to seek FIFA’s top job. He needs nominations from at least five national associations to stand, with candidates required to submit them by 18 November; he says he has heard positively from officials in eight countries but has no formal endorsements yet. Infantino is seeking a fourth term and has backing from several FIFA confederations, while Tashima’s campaign follows scrutiny of an unsuccessful plan to bring private investors into a FIFA commercial entity.
In short
- Tashima says FIFA governance needs change.
- He estimates his election chances at 20 to 30 per cent.
- He needs nominations from five associations by 18 November.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Tashima’s challenge could give football associations a meaningful choice and put FIFA governance under greater scrutiny. His campaign may encourage clearer accountability and debate about how the organisation manages its commercial interests, even if he acknowledges that his current prospects are limited.
The case against
Infantino’s supporters can argue that continuity offers stability and that backing from several confederations reflects confidence in his leadership. A challenger without formal endorsements, and whose campaign follows scrutiny of a failed private-investment plan, may not yet offer a sufficiently established alternative to justify a change.
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