FIFA Was Right to Abandon Private Investment Proposal - Arsène Wenger

FIFA's head of global football development, Arsène Wenger, has said the decision to drop plans for private investment in FIFA competitions was the correct one.

The proposal, introduced by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, would have created a commercial company to manage major tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup. Outside investors would have been able to buy stakes in the new business. Reports said FIFA's 211 member associations were each offered $40 million (£30 million) in exchange for supporting the plan.

The proposal attracted strong criticism, with UEFA's 55 member associations reportedly threatening to boycott FIFA competitions if it moved forward. In response to the growing backlash, FIFA withdrew the proposal.

Wenger, who has overseen FIFA's football development programmes since 2019, said he was not involved in creating the plan and only learned about it through media reports. In a statement, he stressed that FIFA should remain independent and operate with transparency, integrity and a commitment to serving the game.

The former Arsenal manager has previously supported some of Infantino's ideas, including holding the men's World Cup every two years. However, he made clear that he believed abandoning the investment proposal was the only appropriate course of action.

The article also notes that Wenger was among 18 FIFA officials named in a UEFA document preservation letter linked to potential legal action. Meanwhile, Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's senior adviser on global strategy and governance, resigned over the proposal, calling it "a bad deal for football" that would "mortgage football's future."