Ex-Spurs player Vega set to run for Fifa president

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Ramon Vega has announced his intention to stand as a candidate in next year's Fifa presidential election, aiming to bring structural reform and stability to world football's governing body.

The 55-year-old is the first high-profile figure to confirm a challenge against incumbent Gianni Infantino, who has faced intense backlash and widespread calls to step down across the football landscape following a controversial and ultimately failed plan to sell World Cup stakes to private investors.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

A former Switzerland centre-back who also enjoyed spells at Celtic and Watford, Vega transitioned into the finance sector after retiring from professional football in 2004, leveraging his corporate expertise toward sports governance.

"I am standing to reunite the global football family, deliver genuine and lasting reform, modernise Fifa for the 21st Century, restore stability and credibility, and rebuild the trust that our game urgently needs."

Ramon Vega

Vega's presidential ambitions are not entirely new; he previously weighed a bid in 2015 following the suspension of former president Sepp Blatter. Four years later, he again declared his candidacy against Infantino, though he failed to secure the required backing of five of Fifa's 211 member federations to officially make it onto the ballot.