Official: This is Infantino's first opponent in the FIFA elections

Ramon Vega became, this Wednesday, the first man to make public the will to run against Gianni Infantino in the elections with a view to the presidency of FIFA, which are scheduled for 18 March 2027 (with the deadline for the submission of new applications to end already on 18 November).

“ I am applying to bring together the global football family, to ensure genuine and lasting reform, to modernise FIFA for the 21st century, to restore stability and credibility, and to rebuild the confidence that our sport urgently needs,” he said in a statement issued by the British television station BBC Sport.

“ I'm applying because my life has prepared me to serve sports. Football does not belong to presidents, confederations or administrators. Football is greater than any position, any individual or any institution”, continued the former Swiss international, 55 years old.

“ It is the sport of the people and belongs to everyone, to players, to coaches, to referees, to supporters, to volunteers, to clubs, to championships, to federations, to communities that give football their lives. It belongs to all the children who discover sport, to all the professionals who carry the hopes of a nation and to the thousands of millions of fans whose passions make football in world sport”, he added.

Ramon Vega argues that “football should always come first”, something that, in his opinion, does not happen “too long ago”, because of a “fracture in the family” of the modality: “The current leadership demoralized sport. Weak governance damaged FIFA's credibility and eroded confidence in the entire global football family. We must prevent this conflict from escalating.”.

“Battles caused by egos within the football administration should never harm those who are most interested, players, coaches, referees and supporters from all over the world. They are not responsible for these conflicts. They deserve better”, he stressed, ending with an alert.

“Football is in the emergency room, on life support. We can't wait any longer. FIFA needs a new direction and fundamental reform. We must bring together the football family, restore trust, promote stability and modernise FIFA governance. This requires a decisive change, not cosmetic adjustments ", concludes.

Who's Ramon Vega anyway?

Born in Olten, Switzerland, Ramon Vega took the first steps in the football world in the service of Trimbach, having moved to Grasshoppers in the summer of 1990, when he was only 18 years old. Then he put into practice all the potential that was recognized to him, which allowed him to ‘jump’ for Italian football in 1996 by Cagliari’s ‘door’.

Only half a year later, it was sold to Tottenham, for a sum of EUR 5 million, and there spent the best moments of its career, adding eight goals and three assists after 84 official meetings, within three and a half years, before travelling to Celtic.

The then central defense would also represent Watford and Créteil-Lusitanians (as well as the main selection of Switzerland for a total of 23 times), before ‘hanging the cleats’ in 2003. Later, in 2015, when Sepp Blatter was suspended, he admitted the possibility of running for president of FIFA, which eventually did not happen.