Infantino challenger Tashima: outspoken administrator who brought football to Japan

The 68-year-old former Japan Football Association president announced his candidacy to challenge Infantino for the FIFA presidency.

Kohzo Tashima, a 68-year-old former international and longtime administrator of Japanese football, has emerged as the first serious challenger to Gianni Infantino in the race for the FIFA presidency.

Tashima's career spans decades of building Japanese football from its foundations. After playing seven times for Japan's national team and training in West Germany under Dettmar Cramer, he spent nearly half a century developing the sport in Japan. He led Japan's youth teams to World Cups, established a national football academy, and helped nurture a generation of players who went on to compete in Europe's top leagues. He served as president of the Japan Football Association for eight years from 2016, leading with what colleagues describe as an iron fist—notably sacking coach Vahid Halilhodzic two months before the 2018 World Cup but showing patience with Hajime Moriyasu, whose team defeated Germany and Spain at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

In announcing his candidacy, Tashima framed his challenge not as a bid to win but as a statement to the world. "It goes not about winning or losing, but about conveying to the world the honest, integrity and sincere attitude that Japanese football has built," he said.