Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, has said that scrapping the plan to bring private investment into FIFA competitions was absolutely necessary and beyond question.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino had proposed creating a commercial subsidiary to oversee the organization’s major events, including the World Cup, with external investors able to purchase stakes in the venture. Infantino had offered each of FIFA’s 211 member associations $40 million if they backed the plan. After days of mounting criticism, including UEFA’s 55 member nations threatening to boycott all FIFA tournaments, Infantino was ultimately forced to abandon the proposal.
Wenger has held his current role, which covers data analysis of the game, FIFA’s online coaching programs and youth competitions, since 2019. The former Arsenal manager had previously backed Infantino’s separate proposal to hold the men’s World Cup every two years.
A week after the investment plan first came to light, Wenger issued a statement through FIFA calling for transparency and integrity from world football’s governing body. The ex-Arsenal manager said the recent events at FIFA deserved some clarity from him, stressing that he had not been involved in the strategic plan and only learned of the project through media reports.
FIFA’s chief of global football development also said the decision to withdraw the plan was absolutely necessary and beyond question, adding that he firmly believes in an independent FIFA that serves the game with commitment, transparency and integrity.
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Wenger is among 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 so far the only FIFA official to resign over the controversy, calling the proposal a bad deal for football that would have mortgaged the sport’s future.
FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom also joined the criticism, writing in an internal memo to staff that the past week had been difficult to comprehend and accept. Grafstrom, widely regarded as a close Infantino ally, became FIFA’s chief of staff after Infantino’s election as president in 2016 and was elevated to secretary general, one of the organization’s most powerful positions, in 2024.
In his memo, Grafstrom described the episode as a sad and reproachable series of events, though one that was thankfully concluded with the project permanently abandoned, and said the dismay it caused shouldn’t overshadow FIFA’s broader mission.
He said staff had been thrown into the middle of turmoil that was difficult to comprehend and accept, urging them to stay focused on what has always united the organization: serving football and its 211 member associations alongside relevant stakeholders, in full compliance with FIFA’s statutes and regulations.
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Grafstrom assured staff they would be defended and protected from the current political turmoil, telling them not to worry, and argued that individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go, while the institution and its responsibility to world football endure, urging everyone to maintain their professionalism, perspective and composure.
