Kojo Tashima, honorary president of the Japan Football Association, announced on Thursday that he will run for the FIFA presidency against incumbent Gianni Infantino. The election is scheduled for next March, making Tashima the second candidate to challenge Infantino for the leadership of world football’s governing body.
Tashima enters the FIFA presidential race
Tashima’s announcement adds a new challenger to the contest for the FIFA presidency. He is the honorary president of the Japan Football Association, the national body identified in the announcement, and will seek the top post against Infantino, who is the incumbent president.
The declaration establishes Tashima as the second challenger to come forward against Infantino. It also means the election will include a contest for the presidency rather than a sole incumbent candidacy. No further candidates were identified in the announcement provided.
Tashima announced his decision on Thursday. The election itself is scheduled for next March, giving the presidential race a defined timeframe. The announcement did not specify an exact election date or provide further details about the process.
Election scheduled for next March
FIFA’s presidential election will determine who holds the organisation’s top leadership post after the contest. Infantino will seek the presidency as the incumbent, while Tashima will enter the race as a challenger from Japan’s football administration.
The announcement establishes the central details of the contest: the identities of the incumbent and one challenger, Tashima’s role as honorary president of the Japan Football Association, and the planned timing of the vote. It did not include details of Tashima’s campaign platform, his stated reasons for running, or any policy proposals.
The announcement also did not name supporters or describe how candidates will seek backing ahead of the election. Those details were not included in the information released about Tashima’s decision. For now, the known development is that he has formally declared his intention to contest the presidency against Infantino.
The race will therefore feature at least two challengers to the incumbent, with Tashima becoming the second to announce a bid. Further information about the candidates and the campaign was not provided alongside the announcement.
