Wenger: Scrapping Fifa private investment plan was 'beyond question'

Arsene Wenger has broken his silence on Fifa's collapsed private investment project, saying the organisation had no real choice but to abandon it. Wenger, Fifa's chief of global football development, described the withdrawal of the plan as "absolutely necessary and beyond question". Fifa president Gianni Infantino had hoped to create a commercial subsidiary to manage the governing body's flagship competitions, including its World Cups, with external investors able to buy stakes. To win over Fifa's 211 member associations, each was offered $40m (£30m). The proposal unravelled after strong opposition from Europe. Uefa's 55 member nations threatened to boycott all Fifa tournaments, forcing Infantino to pull the plug. Wenger, who joined Fifa in 2019 and oversees data analysis, online training and youth competitions, said he only learned about the project through media reports. He stressed he was not involved in the strategic plan and called for transparency and integrity. Wenger's intervention came a week after the investment plan became public. The former Arsenal boss, who previously backed Infantino's push for a men's World Cup every two years, is one of 18 Fifa officials named in a document preservation letter sent by Uefa over potential legal action. Only one Fifa official, Carlos Cordeiro, resigned over the affair. Infantino's senior adviser on global strategy and governance, Cordeiro called the project "a bad deal for football" and warned it would "mortgage football's future". Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafstrom also criticised the plan. Seen as a close ally of Infantino, Grafstrom became Fifa's chief of staff after the Swiss was elected president in 2016 and was elevated to secretary general in 2024. In an internal memo, he wrote that the previous week had been "difficult to comprehend and accept" and urged staff to stay focused on serving football and Fifa's 211 member associations. Fifa has been approached for comment.