Kozo Tajima, a FIFA council member and honorary president of the Japan Football Association (JFA), said on November 5 that he will stand in next March's FIFA presidential election. He is the first Japanese candidate for the post. The JFA's board, meeting in Tokyo the same day, voted unanimously to endorse him.
Tajima, 68, framed his candidacy around FIFA's reputation. "The sincerity, soundness and integrity that Japanese football has built — we have to carry those out to the world," he said.
Incumbent president Gianni Infantino has already declared he will run. But his influence has weakened over his handling of the deferred suspension of a US player at the North American World Cup and over a plan, announced after the tournament, to set up a subsidiary to run World Cup operations. Support has been withdrawn in a widening movement centered on Europe.
Infantino's base in Africa and the Middle East remains strong. Sheikh Salman, president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), declared his support on October 23. JFA president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto said aligning with the AFC is "our basic position."
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