Two-time World Cup coach Takeshi Okada quit as Japanese soccer federation vice president in protest at the politics around FIFA during Gianni Infantino’s campaign to be re-elected.
The Japan Football Association on Wednesday published Okada’s resignation statement dated last Saturday - 24 hours after the Asian Football Confederation had performed a U-turn by publicly supporting Infantino, who seeks a fourth and final presidential term at an election in March.
Infantino has faced backlash since July over his failed World Cup sell-off plan and broader management style, including ties to U.S. President Donald Trump, provoking a furor from soccer leaders in Europe, North America and - initially - in Asia.
The 70-year-old Okada, who coached Japan at the 1998 and 2010 World Cups, wrote of his belief “that sports should embody integrity.”
“However, the series of actions surrounding this year’s FIFA World Cup represent a significant divergence from my personal convictions,” Okada said in the statement. “As a sportsman, I cannot accept this.”
Okada acknowledged the complexity of Japan’s place in the politics of world soccer’s ruling body FIFA and in Asia, adding he understood “there are practical reasons for aligning with the AFC’s stance.”
Japan wants to host the men’s World Cup before 2050, its federation president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto said at an October 2023 online meeting of the AFC that endorsed Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 edition.
AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa had, in August, joined two of his fellow FIFA vice presidents, Aleksander Ceferin from UEFA and CONCACAF’s Victor Montagliani, by criticizing Infantino for “deception” and a “fundamental breach of trust” for pushing to sell a permanent stake in World Cup profits. Infantino lined up a $4.2 billion deal with private investors led by Joshua Kushner, younger brother of Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka.