Arsène Wenger supports dropping Infantino's World Cup sell-off plan

Two senior FIFA executives have distanced themselves from their boss Gianni Infantino’s failed plan to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private investors. Coaching great Arsène Wenger says dropping the plan was “absolutely necessary” and FIFA's CEO-…

Gianni Infantino has called an emergency meeting of FIFA staff in Rabat on Wednesday following comments by Arsene Wenger that ramped up the pressure on the president, the Press Association understands. Former Arsenal manager Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, issued a statement saying he was “not involved” in the plan to seek private investment in a company to run the World Cup but that the decision to withdraw it was “absolutely necessary and beyond question”.

Arsene Wenger and Gianni Infantino's number two have criticized the Swiss' plan to seek private investment in a company to run the World Cup as pressure continues to ramp up on the FIFA president. Former Arsenal manager Wenger, FIFA's chief of global football development, issued a statement on Tuesday saying he was "not involved" in the plan but that the decision to withdraw it was "absolutely necessary and beyond question.

FIFA's chief of global football development Arsene Wenger has 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."

FIFA’s chief of global football development Arsene Wenger says 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 morning a week on from the first reports emerging about Infantino’s plan to create FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) and sell a 20% stake in it to private equity.

Senior Fifa duo pile pressure on under-fire president Wenger reveals he knew nothing about investment plan Gianni Infantino’s authority was dealt a further blow after his No 2, the Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafström, called the failed World Cup private investment plan a “sad and reproachable series of events”. In further evidence that senior Fifa personnel continue to distance themselves from Infantino and his botched scheme, Arsène Wenger issued a statement on Tuesday morning saying the project’s withdrawal was “absolutely necessary and beyond question”. The former Arsenal manager is Fifa’s chief of global development and had publicly been silent about the crisis unfolding in world football. Continue reading...

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said the decision to scrap FIFA president Gianni Infantino's controversial plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup was "absolutely necessary and beyond question".Infantino wanted to sell a 20 per cent stake in the World Cup to private equity investors through his FIFA Forward Enterprise.

FIFA executive Arsène Wenger on Tuesday distanced himself from Gianni Infantino’s failed plan to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private investors and said it was “absolutely necessary” to drop the proposal. Wenger’s statement on the controversy came after a letter from UEFA’s lawyers to Infantino threatening legal action named the French coaching great among 18 executives whose data and communications should be retained as potential evidence. “I was not involved in this strategic plan and first became aware of the project through media reports,” said Wenger, who was hired by Infantino in 2019 and is FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development.