Arsène Wenger Supports Infantino's Withdrawal from World Cup Investment Plan

Arsène Wenger has broken his silence on the storm around FIFA’s aborted World Cup investment scheme, calling Gianni Infantino’s decision to scrap the project “absolutely necessary and beyond question”.

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

The idea ran into a wall. Three continental confederations rejected the proposal outright, with UEFA taking the confrontation to the brink by threatening to boycott the World Cup and other FIFA competitions if the scheme went ahead. Under that level of pressure, Infantino backed down.

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

“The recent events at FIFA deserve some clarity from my side,” he said, before underlining his role and distance from the controversial project. “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 last line lands with weight. For a figure of Wenger’s stature to learn of such a fundamental shift via the media underlines how tightly the plan was held at the top of the organisation.

The pressure finally told. Infantino withdrew the proposal, and Wenger has now publicly endorsed that retreat.

“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,” he said.

Unlike Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro, who chose to resign over the affair, Wenger has not indicated any intention to leave his post. Instead, he has drawn a line: backing the U-turn, distancing himself from the plan, and nailing his colours to the mast of an “independent FIFA” serving football rather than outside investors.

In a governance battle that has shaken Zurich, Wenger has chosen his side.