Japan Football Association President Kozo Tashima has announced his candidacy for the FIFA presidency..

Sports Nippon, citing sources from the Japan Football Association (JFA) on Thursday, reported that JFA President Kozo Tashima has announced his candidacy for the FIFA presidency.

According to the report, Tashima is less concerned with the outcome of the election and more focused on promoting the integrity, values, and fighting spirit, as well as qualities that characterize the Japanese approach to football and life in general, on a global stage. 

He believes these are principles that FIFA itself should embody and uphold. Therefore, with the full backing of the JFA, he considers himself well-qualified to run for the top leadership position at football’s global governing body.

On the JFA’s official website, Tashima said: "I am deeply grateful to be able to make this announcement with the full support of the Japan Football Association."

"This is not about winning or losing. It is about sharing with the world the sincere, steadfast, and principled attitude that has been cultivated within Japanese football. These are the very values that FIFA needs today. I have decided to run in order to bring this message to the entire world."

It is worth mentioning that Tashima is the second individual to publicly declare his intention to run for the FIFA presidency.

In mid-October, former Tottenham Hotspur and Swiss international defender Ramon Vega became the first person to announce his candidacy.

Calls for the resignation of current FIFA President Gianni Infantino have been mounting, fueled by a series of controversies, including his alleged willingness to allow U.S. President Donald Trump to influence the tournament format for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the overturning of a red card issued to United States forward Folarin Balogun, and his silence regarding human rights concerns in Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Furthermore, the immense pressure on Infantino has intensified following the abandonment of the "FIFA Forward Enterprise" (FFE) project, a plan that would have seen FIFA sell minority stakes in its commercial and tournament operations (including the men’s and women’s World Cups) to private investors—a proposal that drew widespread, harsh criticism.

In September, FIFA confirmed that the 56-year-old Infantino remains determined to seek re-election for a third term, despite clear signals from UEFA, CONCACAF, and the AFC that they would prefer him to step down.

About Kozo Tashima

The 68-year-old Kozo Tashima was born on November 21, 1957, in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. He is the country's former international midfielder during his playing career, having played up for Furukawa Electric (the predecessor to JEF United Chiba).

In 1983, Tashima retired early from his playing career after being accepted into the football coaching and technical development program at the German Sport University Cologne, where he also earned his professional coaching license.

Upon returning to Japan, Tashima began working as a professor at the private institution, Rikkyo University, in the early 1990s. Concurrently, starting in 1995, he served as the head coach of Japan’s U17s national team at the invitation of the Japan Football Association (JFA).

As a coach, he notably led Japan to qualify for the U17s World Cup for the first time in the nation's history in 2001.

In July 2010, Tashima was appointed Vice President of the JFA. The following January, he became a member of the AFC Executive Committee, and in April 2015, he joined the FIFA Council.

In March 2016, Tashima was promoted to the position of President of both the Japan Football Association (JFA) and the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF), though he stepped down from the latter role in March 2018.

Under Tashima’s leadership, Japanese football has experienced rapid, steady, and sustained development on the international stage. Today, the Blue Samurai are widely recognized as one of the most successful national football programs, not only in Asia but globally.

Image source: Internet / Sports Nippon