It’s been a nightmare week for Gianni Infantino. He’s gone from top of the world to a man crashing back to reality and under more scrutiny than ever before, with Arsene Wenger now also having his say.
The FIFA president had his plans to sell a minority stake of the World Cup to private investors exposed by the Times’ Martyn Ziegler and has faced criticism ever since.
The plan would have seen private investors buy a minority stake in a new subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise, with FIFA aiming to raise around $4.2 billion.
Backlash arrived almost immediately as Infantino’s plans were exposed. UEFA’s 55 member associations voted to boycott FIFA competitions if the plan went ahead, while CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also shared their disagreement.
Facing the prospect of losing Europe’s biggest nations, Infantino confirmed the plan would not proceed. He has since been forced to face up to the prospect of losing his position as FIFA President with a number of countries withdrawing their support for his re-election.
Arsene Wenger responds to World Cup sell-off plan
Matters have now become worse for Infantino, with Wenger issuing his response to the now-scrapped plans. The former Arsenal manager is someone who is considered to be within the FIFA President’s inner circle after being personally recruited by the 56-year-old in 2019.
Wenger is currently the Chief of Global Football Development and has been the face of a number of law changes within the game. He is also a technical advisor to IFAB and has now broken his silence on Infantino’s plans – describing it as “absolutely necessary” that the project was scrapped.
“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.” – Wenger
In a full statement, Wenger said: “The recent events at FIFA deserve some clarity from my side.
“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.
“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.”
It’s another blow for Infantino and the writing may well be on the wall for his FIFA presidency just weeks after the 2026 World Cup came to an end.