Sports

Japanese Football Veteran Kozo Tashima Announces Bid for FIFA Presidency

By AFP

Kozo Tashima, a 68‑year‑old former player, coach and administrator, has announced his candidacy for the FIFA presidency, becoming the first Japanese to do so. Tashima, who began playing football after watching the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, has spent his career developing the sport in Japan. He studied at the German Sport University Cologne, an experience that reshaped his view of sport’s role in society.

Tashima said he is running because he believes that “in this age of business and money, sport must firmly uphold its integrity.” He warned that “the worst thing would be if Infantino were to continue without an election,” and said the campaign would test FIFA’s ability to cleanse itself.

Born in southern Kumamoto, Tashima captained his high‑school team to the national championship and later played for Japan’s full national team. After retiring as a player, he studied coaching in Germany, where he was struck by the scientific training methods. Returning to Japan, he coached a university team before joining the Japan Football Association (JFA). He rose through the JFA ranks, served on the Asian Football Confederation executive committee and the FIFA Council, and was elected JFA president in 2016.

As JFA president, Tashima fired coach Vahid Halilhodzic two months before the 2018 World Cup, replacing him with Akira Nishino. Japan reached the last 16 before losing to Belgium. He stepped down as JFA chief in 2024 and was named honorary president.

Tashima cited FIFA’s decision to lift a ban on United States player Folarin Balogun during this year’s World Cup, after intervention by U.S. President Donald Trump, and travel restrictions on Iran’s World Cup team by American authorities as concerns. He said his bid is “not about winning or losing” but about sharing the integrity that Japanese football has built over the years.

The JFA backs Tashima’s candidacy, which he says aims to contribute to the further development of world football.