Ex-Tottenham defender Ramon Vega steps forward to challenge Gianni Infantino and save FIFA

Ramon Vega is stepping forward to serve as the next president of FIFA.

Former Switzerland international Vega says he has strong support to challenge Gianni Infantino at the election next March. And he has now launched an 11-page manifesto explaining why he is the right man to become the new chief of world football.

Vega, 55, is a compelling candidate because he brings together two worlds rarely combined at the highest level of football leadership: elite professional football and international finance and governance.

He says: “Football is woven into the very fabric of my being. I’m standing because my life prepared me to serve the game.”

The ex-Tottenham League Cup winner and Celtic domestic treble-winning defender says he will put fans and players at the centre of his vision after claiming the game has been left “facing a serious crisis of trust and identity.”

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“I was a defender on the field. I am ready to defend the game — its integrity, its people and its future.”

Vega, who has been preparing to seek the FIFA presidency since 2015, said the concerns he raised during previous attempts to stand — including his 2022 campaign, which ended under what he describes as “difficult and deeply questionable circumstances” — have become increasingly visible across world football.

“In 2022, I said that when the football community and wider society were ready for real reform, I would be ready to lead and coordinate that change,” Vega said. “Four years later, I am still here. My commitment has not changed, and the time has come.”

Vega said his candidacy would focus on restoring trust in FIFA, strengthening institutional governance, protecting the independence and dignity of its member associations, ensuring a fairer and more effective distribution of football’s financial resources, and creating a more transparent and inclusive decision-making system involving those directly affected by FIFA’s decisions.

“I am not standing to continue the war. I am standing to end it,” Vega said.

“Football needs dialogue, stability and unity. We may not agree on everything, but we must find common ground and put the interests of the game before individual interests.”

Vega says: “At the heart of my campaign is my Hungarian wife and First Lady, Claudia — my partner throughout this mission and a woman with her own remarkable history in football.

“More than 25 years ago, when very few women worked at the highest levels of the men’s professional game, she was already breaking barriers — working in technical and operational roles and sitting on the bench in men’s UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and international competition. Her experience extends from technical operations and the pitch to the boardroom and football diplomacy.

“With studies in media, communications and psychology, 20 years of ballet training, and extensive international experience, she brings discipline, resilience, empathy and a deep understanding of both football and people.”

Vega says: “Claudia was breaking barriers long before inclusion became a slogan. She earned her place on her own merit. Her journey represents a principle at the heart of our vision: competence, courage and leadership have no gender.”

They both care passionately about the men’s and women’s game and all age groups. Vega speaks six different languages and has a degree in economics and finance.

For more than a decade, they have travelled the world together, listening to people across the game and learning from the different realities facing the global football family. Associations across different confederations have encouraged Vega to pursue this candidacy. That encouragement has continued to grow.

“Before the World Cup, I had already communicated my intention to stand for the FIFA presidency to one of FIFA’s vice presidents. This candidacy is therefore not a sudden decision. It is the result of years of preparation, dialogue and commitment.”

The former Swiss centre-half is well known in football boardrooms, within international football circles and among player unions, and he says the football calendar will be a key part of his manifesto.

There has not been one clear favourite to stand against Infantino, and there is a deadline of November 18 to stand as a candidate in the FIFA election next March. Any candidate must receive the backing of at least five federations, and Vega says he has that support to go up against Infantino, who has already confirmed he plans to stand again.

Vega has presented a passionate manifesto of clear aims and targets, and football has also been crying out for former players to take senior roles within the game.

Highly educated Vega, who also speaks six languages fluently, played for Cagliari in Italy during a career which also took him from Switzerland to England and Scotland. He said:

“Football is the people’s game. It belongs to everyone — players, coaches, referees, volunteers, communities and the billions of fans who give the game its soul.

“For a long time, I have felt that it is our destiny to serve — to serve football, to serve its people and to leave a legacy for generations to come.

“Football taught me that the game is far more than a sport. It is a source of identity, unity and hope for billions of people.

“My journey did not end on the pitch. For the past 25 years, I have built a career in the financial industry in London and globally, working with businesses across different continents, languages and cultures.

“Football is facing a serious crisis of trust and credibility. The current leadership has demoralised the game. Dictatorship, intimidation and blackmail have divided member associations.

“We cannot allow battles of egos within football administration to damage the players, coaches, referees and billions of supporters who deserve better. Football is in the emergency room, on life support. We cannot wait any longer.

“Power-driven individuals must never again be allowed to govern our game. No individual or institution is greater than football itself. The President must serve FIFA — not control it.

“I have come in the spirit of fair play — not merely to criticise, but to unite all those who work for the game, play the game and love the game.

“Football needs fundamental reform, restored trust and stability — not cosmetic adjustments. We cannot heal division through boycotts that only create more damage and deepen the divide.

“We must answer challenges with solutions, not confrontation. I have a duty and a social responsibility to protect and defend the game. I come from the game, I stand for the game, and I will fight for the game.”

Vega says the last World Cup — with sky-high ticket prices — was impossible for fans, while he is equally passionate about restructuring the global calendar, which is a huge issue for players.

He added: “The game belongs to the people. The fans are being priced out. The game is losing its soul.

“Players’ welfare and safeguarding must be at the heart of the game. We need a responsible international calendar that protects their health and puts quality before quantity.”

Vega doesn’t see the FIFA Presidency as a position of personal power. Humility and dialogue are the philosophy of his leadership.

“I am not standing for greed, ego or power. I have already achieved my professional career and built a second career in the global financial world. I am a fulfilled and balanced person.

"I do not need a position to define who I am, but I have an athlete’s DNA. I am always driven to improve, develop and make things better. That is why I am here — not to take from football, but to give back to it and inspire the next generation.

“My purpose is straightforward: to serve football and the people who give the game its life. I am standing to reunite the global football family, deliver genuine and lasting reforms, modernise FIFA for the 21st century, restore stability and credibility, and rebuild the trust that our game urgently needs.

“I offer every member association a neutral, independent and credible democratic alternative: a candidate rooted in the game who can bridge football and international business, bring cultures together and lead FIFA with competence, integrity and independence.

“My integrity and my love for the game are unwavering. The game is ready for change, and I am ready to serve football!”