Japan’s Kozo Tashima has put a number on his long-shot bid to lead world football, rating his chances of unseating FIFA president Gianni Infantino at between 20% and 30%.
Tashima, the honorary president of the Japan Football Association, announced on Thursday that he would stand in next March’s presidential election, becoming the first Japanese candidate to seek the top job in the sport. He told the Japanese daily Sports Nippon in an interview published on Sunday that governance was FIFA’s biggest problem.
“I’ve received many messages saying, ‘Thank you for speaking out'”, Tashima said. He added that he had been contacted by the presidents and international department officials of eight countries, including some outside Asia. “While I haven’t received any formal endorsements yet, I’m getting a positive response.”
To stand in the election, a candidate must be nominated by at least five of FIFA’s 211 member associations. Tashima said he wanted to secure support from at least six, so that he would not be held up by incomplete paperwork. Candidates have until 18 November to submit their nominations.
The 68-year-old former Japan international has served on the FIFA Council since 2015 and became president of the Japan Football Association the following year, before being succeeded by Tsuneyasu Miyamoto in 2024.
Infantino, who is seeking a fourth term, came under scrutiny in July after an unsuccessful attempt to bring private investors into a new FIFA commercial entity holding rights linked to competitions including the World Cup. His candidacy nevertheless received a significant boost in October when the head of Asian football publicly endorsed him, and support from several of FIFA’s confederations has left him well placed among the organisation’s 211 member associations.
“I’ll keep what’s good and change what’s bad,” Tashima said. “The biggest problem, however, remains governance… Selflessness is my motto… At this stage, I think my chances of winning are about 20% to 30%, but as the campaign progresses, I want to raise my confidence to 40% or 50%. I truly want to change FIFA.”
Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega was the first candidate to declare publicly last month that he would challenge Infantino.
Note: this story is based on a single source, Reuters’ account of Tashima’s interview with Sports Nippon; the interview itself has not been independently verified.
Sources: Reuters — “Japan’s Tashima rates FIFA election chances at 20%-30% in challenge to Infantino” (https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/japans-tashima-rates-fifa-election-chances-20-30-challenge-infantino-2026-11-08/)
