The Japan Football Association Board of Directors has selected JFA vice president Kozo Tashima as its pick to be the next president of Japan's soccer federation, a JFA source revealed Wednesday.
The board members had until Jan. 6 to cast their votes for the 58-year-old Tashima or 57-year-old general secretary Hiromi Hara. Multiple JFA sources have said Tashima received the majority of the 28 votes and will be the named the board's choice.
Although the decision by the board of directors is not binding, it is considered an important factor in the decisive vote by the 75-member JFA Board of Trustees, set for Jan. 31, when the next president will be chosen.
In the past, the JFA president was nominated by senior members, with members of the board of trustees only rubber-stamping the decision after the board of directors passed judgment. The format has been revised for the first time to increase transparency.
