The FIFA presidential election takes place in March next year and the activity behind the scenes is already busy.

Gianni Infantino, the current president, is seeking a fourth and final term. Under pressure from the controversy over his attempt to sell the commercial rights to the World Cup, he is expected to face competition from two names.

Who is running against Infantino for the FIFA presidency

Gianni Infantino has a second challenger for the FIFA presidency ? Japan FA honorary president Kozo Tashima joins former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega in declaring his intention to run, with the vote set for 18 March 2027 in Rabat, Morocco. https://t.co/rTC9Y0T88S

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 6, 2026

The most recent to announce his intention to stand for football’s top job was Japan’s Kozo Tashima, honorary president of the Japan Football Association (JFA), which he led between 2016 and 2024.

The official, who has also been a member of FIFA’s technical council since 2015 and played football in the 1980s, stressed that he has the support of the JFA and that his experience at the head of the national federation will help him take on the challenge.

Before Tashima, former defender Ramon Vega, who played for Tottenham, Watford and Celtic, announced last month his own intention to stand for the FIFA presidency, with a platform of strengthening governance. Since retiring in 2004, he has worked in finance and asset management. In 2019, Vega tried to stand but failed to secure the minimum support from federations.

To be a candidate for the leadership of football’s governing body, the backing of five federations is required, something that Vega and Tashima still need to seek. The deadline for candidacies to be made official is 18 November.

Infantino has recovered from controversy and is favourite for re-election

In the middle of this year, behind the scenes, Infantino was negotiating the sale of 20% of the commercial rights to FIFA’s competitions, including the women’s and men’s World Cups, to private investors.

Among the possible interested parties was Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump, the president of the United States, who has a strong relationship with the FIFA president, the man responsible for giving him a peace prize last year.

The plan, however, was revealed by the The Times, which prompted an immediate negative reaction from almost all of the continental confederations. UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF (North and Central America) and the AFC (Asia), as well as several FIFA executives and advisers, condemned the idea and forced Infantino to backtrack.

The European body in particular was the loudest critic of the Italian-Swiss executive, pushing for his resignation or removal and threatening a boycott of FIFA competitions, an idea that was later dropped.

With time, however, the pressure eased and the president, with the ‘machine on his side’ for re-election, made his move. Last month, the Asian Football Confederation renewed its alliance with Infantino and now supports his re-election, with Japan, through Kozo Tashima, the exception.

He already has the backing of the CAF (Africa) and CONMEBOL (South America), and nothing changed with a recent new scandal, in which the French newspaper Le Monde revealed that FIFA paid $4m (around £3m) in personal taxes for its president in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

The current president is the favourite to have his mandate extended until 2031. Gianni Infantino has been in office since 2016 and was re-elected in 2019 and 2023. In theory, he could not seek a fourth term, but because he initially took over after the resignation of Sepp Blatter, that was not considered an election.

When and how the FIFA presidential election takes place

There are 211 national associations affiliated to FIFA, with 55 of them from UEFA, 54 from the CAF, 46 from the AFC, 35 from CONCACAF, 11 from the OFC (Oceania) and 10 from CONMEBOL. Each has the right to one vote, which is secret.

If there is a candidate against Infantino, whoever receives more than 50% of the votes is elected. If there are three or more in the contest (as could happen with Tashima and Vega), two thirds of the votes are needed in the first round. If that figure is not reached, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated until only two contenders remain, with the winner decided by simple majority.

The 2027 election will be held on 18 March at the 77th FIFA Congress in Rabat, the capital of Morocco.