Japan Football Association Vice President Quits Over Asian Federation's Backing of Infantino

A vice president of the Japan Football Association has resigned, saying the way football's leaders have handled recent controversies around the World Cup clashes with his personal values.

Takeshi Okada, who coached the Japanese national team at the 1998 and 2010 World Cups, left his post a week after the head of Asian football said the region backed Gianni Infantino's campaign for re-election as FIFA president. Okada was one of three vice presidents at the JFA.

Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), gave the clear endorsement at a meeting in Tokyo. His statement came only weeks after the AFC had joined governing bodies in Europe and North America in criticizing Infantino over a proposal to open FIFA's premium competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors.

Infantino has faced calls to step down and has lost the support of some national associations as he seeks a fourth and final term. He has led FIFA since 2016 and is standing for re-election in March. He apologized over the failed private investment project.

Okada said he was leaving "entirely of my own volition." He described a lifelong commitment to the idea that sport should be run with integrity. "Throughout my career I have treasured the social value of sport based on my conviction that sport must be conducted with integrity," he said.

He added that the recent responses surrounding the FIFA World Cup left a wide gulf between official conduct and his own convictions. "There is a significant gap between those responses and my own beliefs, and as a sportsman I cannot accept them," he said.

Okada said the decision followed "careful and repeated deliberation." He acknowledged the practical considerations behind Japan's alignment with the AFC. "Taking into account our relationship with the AFC and the impact on Japanese football, I do understand that there are practical reasons for aligning our stance with that of the AFC," he said.

The AFC's latest position marks a reversal from two months earlier, when it and Sheikh Salman signalled they might turn against Infantino. At that point the confederation signed a joint letter with European body UEFA and CONCACAF, which represents federations in North and Central America and the Caribbean. The letter declared that football "belongs to no individual."