Date: 12th November 2026
Vote for Me!
By Donald C Stewart
Footballers going into politics…
How well does that go?
Ask George Weah, the former striker who became president of Liberia. However, another footballer, one who graced Parkhead, Raymond Vega, has launched a campaign to become the next FIFA president and is wanting to get backing from the Scottish Football Association.
Anyone running against Gianna Infantino is likely to get votes, but does Vega come with the requisite ability to run FIFA as well as the likely number of votes to win the election?
Vega himself certainly thinks so.
He has spent the last 10 years working up the opportunity to run for president of FIFA and now feels that he has got everything in place. He is helped by Infantino’s current escapades as FIFA president, particularly over the last World Cup. That World Cup saw the highest prices ever for supporters to get in to see their teams and also the ill-thought-out selling of 20% of the stake of the World Cup to commercial entities that eventually fell flat in its own face. And, not forgetting, what at the time seemed an astute political move, giving Donald Trump some kind of trinket. It is not quite beginning to fade into some form of obscurity as questions over what exactly they gave Donald Trump. Questions are apposite over what it meant for Trump, as well as what influence it gave the man in the White House over decisions of the World Cup itself, not least, Balogun’s red card where Trump claimed he intervened and managed to change the course of footballing history.
Meanwhile Vega confirmed that he had reached out to the SFA to secure a nomination from them. He needs five from football authorities to get on the ballot.
But what does Vega stand for? And is there any merit in the Scottish Football Association backing him? What is sure is that there is no merit in backing Infantino. Vega and his wife, an administrator within the game, have produced an 11-page document of what they see as being the future for FIFA.
Part of that document includes a commitment that fans shall be well represented within the game. He talks a very good game about how they have been neglected for so long and it could be argued that Vega himself is peddling the right policy for fans. Whether or not he can put it into place is another thing.
He also rails against the $6 billion that FIFA currently holds, suggesting that 90% of revenue that comes into FIFA should be distributed to the associations. He can’t understand why this large amount of money is sitting in a bank account somewhere not benefiting the game at all.
He also retains his most scathing comments in a recent interview to the Peace Prize. Just exactly why FIFA gave such an award to a man responsible for starting wars doesn’t remain a mystery. It’s very clear it was about political advantage. And at the time, I thought it was a clever political move, much though I disagreed with it personally. In the cold light of day, it was always going to feel tacky.
It made Infantino a puppet and puppy of the man in the White House rather than standing up for football itself.
It is clear change is needed within the governance of football across many levels, not least at the top in FIFA. Whether or not Raymond Vega is going to be the man who makes that change, time will only tell. It is his fourth attempt to become FIFA president. Maybe this time round he is likely to gain some kind of traction. Whether or not that’s going to be with SFA support we’ll have to wait and see.
Posted in: Fan's Blog, Latest News
Tags: FIFA, oor Donald, SFA, World Cup