Vega To Challenge Infantino For FIFA Presidency

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega has confirmed he will stand for the FIFA presidency at next year’s election, becoming the first candidate to publicly challenge incumbent Gianni Infantino.

Vega, 55, also played for Celtic and Watford and represented Switzerland as a centre-back. Since ending his playing career in 2004, he has worked in finance.

Infantino has refused to step down despite criticism over his failed attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, a proposal that caused a broad backlash in football.

Vega said his aim was to bring the global football family back together, deliver meaningful and lasting reform, modernise FIFA for the 21st century, restore stability and credibility, and rebuild trust.

“I am standing because my life has prepared me to serve the game,” he said.

In an 11-page manifesto, Vega argued that football does not belong to presidents, confederations or administrators. He said it belongs to players, coaches, referees, supporters, volunteers, clubs, leagues, associations and communities, and to every child discovering the game, every professional representing a nation and the billions of fans worldwide.

He added that football must come first, but division has fractured the football family. He accused the current leadership of demoralising the game and said weak governance has harmed FIFA’s credibility and eroded trust. He warned that football is in the emergency room on life support and that FIFA cannot wait any longer for a new direction and fundamental reform, not merely cosmetic changes.

Meanwhile, Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has written to Infantino to distance himself from an external review of FIFA’s governance system.

In the letter, seen by BBC Sport, Sheikh Salman suggested that the FIFA Council establish a working group to consider possible reforms rather than outsourcing the process to an external party.

The move comes two months after Sheikh Salman joined the heads of UEFA and CONCACAF in signing a joint letter that accused Infantino of breaking trust “through deception” over the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan. At that stage, the three confederations said any review of FIFA governance should be carried out by a fully independent third party.

Sheikh Salman now says the process should be led by football institutions themselves. He said there is value in considering whether FIFA’s existing governance arrangements can be strengthened, adding that the issue is not necessarily whether a wholesale redesign is needed.

FIFA’s Council is due to meet in Zurich next week for the first time since the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan emerged in July.

Infantino said last month he was fully committed to leading FIFA despite calls from UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation for him to quit. In a separate intervention, Pinto said Infantino should have no place in the future of football.

Vega previously considered a FIFA presidential run in 2015 after former president Sepp Blatter was suspended. Four years later, he said he would stand against Infantino but failed to secure enough support to appear on the ballot. Candidates need the backing of five of FIFA’s 211 member federations, must be proposed by a member association, must have played an active role in football for two of the past five years and must pass an eligibility check by a review committee.

Blatter responded to Vega’s announcement on social media, writing: “An interesting candidate with a diverse background. Good luck, Ramon.”