FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, Arsene Wenger, has said scrapping the plan to have private investment in Fi competitions was “absolutely necessary and beyond question”.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino planned to create a commercial subsidiary to run its main events, including its World Cups, with external investors able to buy stakes.
Infantino had offered Fifa’s 211 member associations $40m (£30m) each if they backed the proposal. But after days of criticism – including Uefa’s 55 nations threatening to boycott all Fifa tournaments – Infantino was forced to withdraw the plan.
Wenger, who clarified he had no intention of following senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro in resigning, distanced himself from the FFE scheme. He asserted his belief in Fifa’s role in serving the game with “commitment, transparency, and integrity”.
In his statement, the Frenchman explained: “The recent events at Fifa deserve some clarity from my side… 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 is one of 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 the only Fifa official to resign over the scandal, saying the proposal was “a bad deal for football” and would “mortgage football’s future”.