Wednesday, August 5, 2026 - FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, Arsene Wenger, has said scrapping the plan to have private investment in FIFA competitions was "absolutely necessary and beyond question".
FIFA president Gianni Infantino planned to create a
commercial subsidiary to run its main events, including its World Cups, with
external investors able to buy stakes.
Infantino had offered Fifa's 211 member associations $40m
(£30m) each if they backed the proposal. But after days of criticism -
including Uefa's 55 nations threatening to boycott all Fifa tournaments -
Infantino was forced to withdraw the plan.
Wenger, who clarified he had no intention of following
senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro in resigning, distanced himself from the FFE
scheme. He asserted his belief in Fifa’s role in serving the game with
“commitment, transparency, and integrity”.
In his statement, the Frenchman explained: “The recent
events at Fifa deserve some clarity from my side... 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.”
Wenger is one of 18 Fifa officials named in a document
preservation letter Uefa sent to Fifa threatening legal action.
Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's senior adviser on global
strategy and governance, is the only Fifa official to resign over the scandal,
saying the proposal was "a bad deal for football" and would
"mortgage football's future".
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