Vega will 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 he wants to challenge Gianni Infantino, who has defied calls to resign following his failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, sparking a huge backlash across football.

A former Swiss 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 world football family, deliver genuine and lasting reform, modernize FIFA for the 21st century, restore stability and credibility and rebuild the trust our game urgently needs,” he said (via BBC Sport.

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

In his letter – seen by BBC Sport – Sheikh Salman proposes that the FIFA council create a working group to examine possible reforms, “rather than outsourcing it to an external party”.

Last month, Infantino said he was “fully committed to leading FIFA” despite being asked to resign by UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation.

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

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Four years later he said he would oppose Infantino, but failed to gain enough support to be included on the ballot, requiring the backing of five of FIFA’s 211 member federations.

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