The vice-president of the Japanese Football Federation (JFA), Takeshi Okada, announced his resignation on Wednesday, amid disagreement with the recent positions of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) towards FIFA.
His departure comes after the AFC on Friday supported the candidacy of Gianni Infantino for a new mandate at the head of the world body.
At a meeting in Tokyo, AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa expressed “total commitment” to the Italian-Swiss leader, who was present.
This position contrasts with that adopted a few weeks earlier by the AFC, which joined European and North American authorities to criticize Infantino’s plan to open FIFA’s most prestigious competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors.
Former Japan coach during the 1998 and 2010 World Cups, Okada explained that these controversies were incompatible with his personal beliefs.
“Throughout my career, I have attached great importance to the social value of sport, convinced that it must be practiced with integrity,” he declared, before adding that he could not accept this gap between his principles and recent positions.
The Japanese leader clarified that his decision was carefully considered and taken on his own initiative, and he did not explicitly name the AFC’s support as the direct cause of his resignation.
Okada, however, admitted to understanding the practical reasons which lead Japanese football to align its position with that of the Asian body, taking into account their relations and the possible consequences for Japanese football.
Infantino, who has headed FIFA since 2016, apologized after his private investment plan failed. He is seeking a fourth term in the election scheduled for March.
