Kozo Tashima’s declaration last week that he would stand against Gianni Infantino in next March’s FIFA presidential election came as a surprise, but is the latest sign of dissatisfaction within Japanese soccer at the state of the sport’s governance.
The move comes in the wake of Takeshi Okada’s resignation from his role as a Japan Football Association vice-president last month.
Okada, who coached Japan at the 1998 and 2010 World Cup finals, cited concerns over developments surrounding FIFA and the World Cup with his resignation, and his announcement was made in the aftermath of the Asian Football Confederation declaring its support for Infantino’s reelection.
Tashima, currently the JFA’s honorary president after eight years as president, has vowed to self-fund his challenge and his move underscores the mood within a country that has established itself as Asia’s on-field leader of the sport.
The 68-year-old has played a central role in that rise and had already voiced his opposition to Infantino’s FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) several months before confirming his intention to stand against the incumbent.
In August, Tashima said in an interview with Nikkei Shimbun that he viewed the plan to sell a stake in the sport to private investors as “unacceptable both in terms of its decision-making process and its substance,” declaring the proposal “flawed.”
Infantino has said that he made mistakes in the way he communicated the FFE plan and indicated he would be open to an independent review of FIFA’s governance system.
Tashima accepts that his chances of unseating Infantino are at best about 30 percent and that he has yet to secure the required backing of five national federations.
“It is not about winning or losing, but about making clear to the world what honesty, soundness and integrity Japanese football has built,” he said when announcing his candidacy. “I believe this is exactly what FIFA needs now.”
Infantino’s now-abandoned efforts to sell off commercial rights of FIFA properties did not sit comfortably with how Tashima, a former player, coach and administrator, views the game.
Tashima has been involved in the sport since his youth.
While at college he gained the first of seven caps for Japan playing as a forward and, after graduating, joined the Furukawa Electric club in the Japan Soccer League, the amateur predecessor to the J.League.
Tashima took over as the national body’s general secretary in 2006, became the JFA’s vice-president in 2010 and, in 2015, was elected to the FIFA Council.
His rise continued when, a year later, he won the first of a record four consecutive two-year terms as JFA president, gaining a reputation as a trusted and decisive leader capable of making important decisions.
Tashima is seeking a change at the helm of FIFA, with Infantino in his sights.
“Selflessness is my motto. That’s what it means to be the head of FIFA,” he told Sports Nippon in an interview.
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