Fifa private money plan had to be scrapped - Wenger

What the report says

Fifa’s chief of global football development, Arsene Wenger, has backed the decision to abandon a proposal that would have brought private investment into Fifa competitions, calling the reversal necessary. The BBC reports that the plan, associated with Fifa president Gianni Infantino, would have created a commercial arm to run major events such as the men’s World Cup, with outside investors able to buy stakes.

According to the article, Infantino had sought support from Fifa’s 211 member associations by offering each of them $40m if they approved the proposal. The idea drew strong opposition, including threats from Uefa’s 55 member nations to boycott Fifa tournaments, before Infantino withdrew it after several days of criticism.

Wenger said he was not involved in shaping the strategy and only learned of it through media coverage. He later issued a statement stressing the need for transparency and integrity in football governance. The BBC also notes that Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance, resigned over the episode, while Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafstrom described the situation as difficult to accept in an internal memo.

The episode matters because it highlights ongoing tension inside world football over commercial control, governance and the independence of Fifa’s competitions.