2 publishers · first seen Wed, 28 Oct 2026 12:29 UTC · updated Thu, 29 Oct 2026 07:37 UTC
Japan Football Association vice president Takeshi Okada has resigned from his position, citing a divergence from his personal convictions over the series of actions surrounding this year's FIFA World Cup. His resignation follows the Asian Football Confederation's endorsement of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a shift from its earlier criticism of Infantino's attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Okada, who coached Japan at the 1998 and 2010 World Cups, stated that sports should embody integrity and that he could not accept the current direction under Infantino. The AFC's support for Infantino emerged after its extraordinary congress in Tokyo, where Infantino was publicly embraced by AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa.
Jordan FA president Prince Ali bin Hussein has also criticized the AFC meeting, calling it "pure politics" and questioning the lack of debate or media access. The AFC dismissed his claims as unsubstantiated and referred them to its judicial bodies. Infantino, who has been FIFA president since 2016, is seeking re-election in March 2027, with Asian support seen as crucial to his campaign.
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