Former Tottenham Hotspur footballer Ramon Vega has stated that he intends to run in the election for the FIFA presidency, against his fellow Swiss national Gianni Infantino.

Former Swiss international Ramon Vega announced on Wednesday that he intends to run in the elections for the FIFA presidency, scheduled for March next year, where he will face the current head of world football’s governing body, Gianni Infantino. Vega is the first candidate to publicly declare this intention.

Now 55, Vega represented Switzerland between 1993 and 2001 and played for Cagliari, Tottenham Hotspur, Celtic and Watford. He won the English League Cup with Tottenham in 1999, and in the 2000-2001 season he contributed to Celtic’s domestic treble.

In his manifesto, the former footballer says that he aims to reform and modernize FIFA, restore the organization’s stability and credibility, and rebuild trust in the leadership of world football.

His candidacy is announced at a difficult time for Infantino. Switzerland, England, Wales, France, Serbia and other European federations have withdrawn their support for another term following the failure of the project to attract private investors to a commercial entity of FIFA.