Arsène Wenger Supports Infantino's Decision on World Cup Investment

Arsène Wenger has thrown his weight behind Gianni Infantino’s decision to abandon a controversial plan to sell a slice of FIFA’s World Cup business to private investors, calling the climbdown “absolutely necessary and beyond question”.

The former Arsenal manager, now FIFA’s chief of global football development, broke his silence on Tuesday, a week after details first emerged of a proposal to create a new vehicle, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), and sell a 20 per cent stake in it to private equity.

The backlash was immediate and fierce. Three continental confederations rejected the plan outright, with UEFA going further and warning it could boycott the World Cup and other FIFA competitions if the project went ahead. Under that pressure, Infantino pulled back.

Wenger has now made clear he stood nowhere near the drawing board.

“The recent events at FIFA deserve some clarity from my side,” the Frenchman said in a statement. “At FIFA, I am the Chief of Global Football Development.

“Together with my team, I oversee the data analysis of the game, the FIFA online training centre, the development of youth education through 60 academies across 60 countries where they are most needed, and youth competitions around the world.

“In addition, I am a technical adviser to IFAB.

“I was not involved in this strategic plan and first became aware of the project through media reports.”

That line matters. Wenger is one of the most recognisable figures inside FIFA, often rolled out as the football man in an organisation frequently accused of chasing commercial gain. By stressing he only learned of FFE through the media, he is drawing a clear line between his football brief and the boardroom manoeuvring around the game’s biggest tournament.

The 74-year-old then backed the decision to scrap the proposal in unequivocal terms.

“The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question, because I firmly believe in an independent FIFA that serves our game with commitment, transparency, and integrity.”

While Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro chose to resign over the saga, Wenger gave no hint he plans to follow him out of the door. Instead, he anchored himself to the principles he says should guide FIFA: independence from outside investors and a duty to the sport rather than to shareholders.

Youth academies, data analysis, education, global competitions — that is the terrain Wenger claims as his own inside the organisation. The battle over who profits from the World Cup will rage on around him, but his message was blunt: FIFA must belong to football, not to private equity.