Ex-Spurs player Vega set to run for FIFA president

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega says he intends to stand as a candidate in next year’s FIFA presidential election.

The 55-year-old is the first person to confirm that they want to challenge Gianni Infantino, who has defied calls to step down in the wake of his failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, a move that has sparked a major backlash across football.

A former Switzerland centre-back, Vega also played for Celtic and Watford and has worked in finance since retiring from football in 2004.

“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,” he said.

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

In his letter, seen by BBC Sport, Sheikh Salman proposes that FIFA’s council set up a working group to examine potential reforms, “rather than being outsourced to an external party”.

Last month, Infantino said he was “fully committed to leading Fifa” despite Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation calling for him to quit.

Vega considered running for Fifa’s top job in 2015 following the suspension of former president Sepp Blatter.

Four years later, he said he would stand against Infantino, but failed to garner enough support to be included in the ballot, having required the backing of five of FIFA’s 211 member federations.

Candidates must also be proposed by a member association, have played an active role in the game for two of the past five years, and pass an eligibility check by a review committee.

“I am standing because my life has prepared me to serve the game,” Vega said in a statement announcing his candidacy.

“Football does not belong to presidents, confederations or administrators. Football is greater than any position, any individual or any institution.

“It is the people’s game and belongs to everyone: the players, coaches, referees, supporters, volunteers, clubs, leagues, associations and communities that give football its life.

“It belongs to every child discovering the game, every professional carrying the hopes of a nation, and the billions of supporters whose passion makes football the world’s game.

“Football must always come first. Yet for too long, division has fractured our football family.

“The current leadership has demoralised the game. Weak governance has damaged FIFA’s credibility and eroded trust across the global football family. We must stop this conflict from escalating.

“Ego-driven battles within football administration must never be allowed to damage those who matter most: the players, coaches, referees and supporters around the world. They are not responsible for these conflicts. They deserve better.”

Vega concluded: “Football is in the emergency room, on life support. We cannot wait any longer. FIFA needs a new direction and fundamental reform.

“We must reunite the football family, restore trust, bring stability and modernise FIFA’s governance. This requires decisive change – not cosmetic adjustments.”

It comes with Sheikh Salman appearing to soften his stance towards Infantino just two months after the AFC president signed a joint letter with the heads of UEFA and CONCACAF accusing the FIFA president of breaking trust “through deception” over his FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan.

At the time, the three confederations said any review of Fifa’s governance must be “conducted by a fully independent third party”.

Now, however, Salman says he believes the process should be “driven by the football institutions themselves, rather than being outsourced to an external party”.

He added: “I believe there is value in taking this opportunity to consider constructively whether Fifa’s existing governance arrangements can be strengthened.

“The issue is not necessarily whether this requires a wholesale redesign of Fifa’s governance system.”

FIFA’s council meets in Zurich next week for the first time since the FFE plan emerged in July.