Former Tottenham defender, Ramon Vega, has declared his candidacy for the 2027 FIFA presidential election, which could see him contesting Gianni Infantino for the top job in world football. Vega’s move, which came before the bid from a 1981 World Cup champion, is his first public challenge against the chairman in what is set to become the most intense campaign in the history of the FIFA election.
The election is slated for March and it appears the first to openly challenge the incumbent is the bid from the 1981 World Cup champion, the Ramon Vega bid. A former Switzerland international, Vega has set out a campaign to reform the way football is run, restore trust and unite the football family. The announcement is coming amid charges of failure in the quest for a new FIFA commercial arm with private partners for rights to the major events, such as the World Cup, and as Infantino is being criticized for his leadership.
According to his manifesto, Vega’s goal is to benefit football and the people who support the game. He promised to modernize FIFA, to improve governance and to restore the credibility of the FIFA. My goal is simple, to serve football and the people that give football life,” Vega said. The former defender also condemned the current leadership of FIFA, saying that they had “impacted the confidence within the entire football world by their weak governance.” He emphasized that the president, confederation and administrators should not be the only persons to run football. Vega was a Swiss international from 1993 to 2001 and had been playing for various clubs in Europe including Watford, Celtic and Tottenham.
He played for Tottenham, helping them to win the League Cup in 1999 and then helping Celtic to achieve a domestic treble in 2000-01. The announcement of the campaign comes as opposition to Infantino’s re-election bid increases.
