Arsene Wenger says Fifa's U-turn was 'absolutely necessary and beyond question'

Fifa’s chief of global football development, Arsene Wenger, said Gianni Infantino’s decision to withdraw from a plan to sell stakes in a World Cup company to private investors was “absolutely necessary and beyond question”.

Former Arsenal manager Wenger issued a statement on Tuesday, a week after Infantino announced his proposal to create Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) and sell a 20 per cent stake in it to private equity.

The plan was rejected by three continental confederations, with Uefa going further and threatening to boycott the World Cup and other Fifa competitions if it was not dropped.

Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro also quit the organisation last week, saying: “I cannot stand by while Fifa considers selling a stake in the World Cup.”

Cordeiro also urged other members of Fifa to speak out against the plan.

Wenger did not indicate any intention to quit himself, but made clear he was opposed to the FFE plan, saying he believed in Fifa serving the game with “commitment, transparency, and integrity”.

“The recent events at Fifa deserve some clarity from my side,” the Frenchman said in a statement.

“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.

“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’s statement comes as a number of European associations withdraw their support for Infantino.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) issued a statement confirming it had withdrawn its support.

That followed Uefa issuing a statement on Saturday welcoming the withdrawal of the FFE plan but stating it had “lost confidence” in Infantino.

As he withdrew his plan on Saturday, Infantino said: “Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.”

He added that the proposal “will not proceed”.

Clubs within the European Football Clubs (EFC) group are understood to have contacted Fifa themselves, concerned about the FFE plan, given it was intended to cover Club World Cups and would have materially affected plans agreed between the EFC and Fifa to create a joint venture on Club World Cup competition rights.

Fifa currently has no agreement in place with EFC for the staging of the 2029 Club World Cup.

Wenger’s statement was certainly less explosive than the one issued last Friday by Fifa’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who said in a statement that staff at the global governing body had been “deceived” by Infantino.