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Ramon Vega Announces Bid To Challenge Gianni Infantino For FIFA Presidency
Ramon Vega announced his bid to challenge Gianni Infantino in the 2027 FIFA presidency. He became the first candidate to publicly declare opposition to Infantino.
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Vega Challenges Infantino
Ramon Vega, the former Tottenham Hotspur and Switzerland defender, announced Wednesday that he intends to challenge FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the 2027 election.
Vega, who is 55, said in a statement, "I am standing to reunite the global football family, deliver genuine and lasting reform, modernise FIFA for the 21st Century, restore stability and credibility, and rebuild the trust that our game urgently needs," and he framed his bid as a response to what he called damaging trust in FIFA's leadership.
Vega also accused FIFA's leadership of demoralising the game, saying, "Weak governance has damaged FIFA's credibility and eroded trust across the global football family," as he demanded changes to FIFA's governance.
FIFA's 2027 presidential race is set against a backdrop of Infantino seeking reelection next year after a controversial plan involving the sale of a stake in commercial and ticketing rights to FIFA competitions to private investors, which has sparked backlash across football.
Candidates seeking to challenge Infantino in the 2027 election have until Nov. 18 to declare their intention to stand.
Rules, Backing, and Letters
Vega told AFP that "The situation has evolved a lot since then," adding that FIFA's member associations were "much more open to change" than when he previously sought to stand. Vega must first gain the backing of at least five of FIFA's 211 member federations, and a candidate must also be proposed by one of those. Infantino has defied calls to step down after his failed plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors, and Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa wrote to Infantino proposing that FIFA's council set up a working group rather than outsourcing reforms.
Sheikh Salman proposed that the process be "driven by the football institutions themselves, rather than being outsourced to an external party," according to the BBC, as he distanced himself from an external review of FIFA's governance system. Arab News also said Vega's candidacy is not yet clear to proceed, because he must meet eligibility requirements including being involved in football for two of the previous five years and passing an eligibility review.
What the Candidacy Means
Vega's campaign message tied his bid to rebuilding trust and modernising FIFA, and he said, "Football does not belong to presidents, confederations or administrators," as he argued the game is "the people's game" that belongs to players, coaches, referees, supporters, volunteers, clubs, leagues, associations and communities. Infantino has faced demands to step down after his failed plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors, and UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation called for him to quit. Vega considered running for the FIFA presidency in 2015 and told the BBC at the time that he was weighing a candidacy, and four years later he announced plans to challenge Infantino but failed to secure backing of five FIFA member associations required to appear on the ballot.
“Football does not belong to presidents, confederations or administrators.”
Vega's candidacy is not yet clear to proceed, because he must meet eligibility requirements including being involved in football for two of the previous five years and passing an eligibility review. FIFA's council meets in Zurich next week for the first time since the FFE plan emerged in July, placing Vega's challenge and the governance dispute in the lead-up to the 2027 election in the FIFA Congress in Rabat.