Arsene Wenger to make FIFA presidency decision by end of week

Arsene Wenger will make his mind up about whether to stand for the FIFA presidency by the end of this week, the Press Association has been told.

The Frenchman, 77, is giving thought to running against incumbent Gianni Infantino, who has lost the confidence of European football’s governing body UEFA over a controversial plan to seek private investment in a World Cup company.

Sources close to former Arsenal manager Wenger have indicated he will make a final decision on whether to stand this week, with the deadline for candidates to declare falling next Wednesday, November 18.

UEFA stated in August it would work to identify a credible candidate to stand against Infantino, and Wenger would certainly fit the bill and is being encouraged to stand by UEFA. One senior figure in European football told the Press Association they believe Wenger is the only person who could beat Infantino and put football first.

For months UEFA has sought to identify someone with sufficient global appeal to run against Infantino, but has been at pains to ensure there was no sense of a candidate who was too European being imposed on the world game.

Wenger is European but has been FIFA’s chief of global football development since November 2019 and is a respected figure worldwide having coached in Japan as well as with huge success in the Premier League. He is also thought to command strong respect in Africa thanks to his development work within FIFA.

The Press Association has also been told some of Wenger’s colleagues within FIFA are encouraging him to stand against Infantino.

Infantino’s position as president appeared threatened after it emerged on July 28 he was working on a plan to create a company, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would manage the commercial interests of FIFA’s competitions including the men’s and women’s World Cups.

It was proposed that a private investor group, led by a company founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of United States President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, would hold a minority stake in FFE.

Infantino was forced to abandon the plan within days of it publicly emerging after UEFA rejected it, along with the Asian confederation and CONCACAF, which represents the nations of North and Central America plus the Caribbean.

Infantino had also come under fire during the World Cup earlier this year when FIFA’s disciplinary committee suspended a ban imposed on United States striker Folarin Balogun. President Trump admitted he had personally called Infantino to review the ban on Balogun.

Infantino has since consolidated support as he goes in search of a fourth term as president.

He has been pledged “unanimous” backing from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), while the Asian confederation has U-turned and says it will support him. He is also expected to draw support from South America and Oceania, and last Friday the member nations of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) also said they backed him.

Whether that support would hold at the ballot box at the FIFA Congress next March with Wenger also a contender remains to be seen.