GENEVA (AP) 鈥� FIFA executive Ars猫ne Wenger on Tuesday distanced himself from to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private investors and said it was 鈥渁bsolutely necessary鈥� to drop the proposal.
Wenger鈥檚 statement on the controversy came after a threatening legal action named the French coaching great among 18 executives whose data and communications should be retained as potential evidence.
鈥淚 was not involved in this strategic plan and first became aware of the project through media reports,鈥� said Wenger, who was hired by Infantino in 2019 and is FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development.
The statement by the former Arsenal coach did not name Infantino and comes after a weeklong furor across world soccer.
鈥淭he 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,鈥� Wenger wrote.
Infantino withdrew his $20 billion proposal early Saturday after a furious backlash by global soccer officials, including European body UEFA warning of a boycott of all FIFA games and events.
The plan would have created a subsidiary 鈥� known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) 鈥� to run the money-making parts of the not-for-profit soccer body鈥檚 work: Organizing tournaments like the World Cup, selling broadcasting and sponsorship rights, tickets and hospitality.
It proposed raising $4.2 billion from investors by selling stakes amounting to about 20% in FFE, based on an equity valuation of $20 billion. The 鈥渁nchor investor鈥� would have been Thrive Eternal, launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother is a son-in-law of .
FIFA鈥檚 211 member federations 鈥� already effective owners of the governing body as a nonprofit association under Swiss law 鈥� were offered $20 million each. The deadline to accept was Sept. 19.
They also were promised a doubling of their FIFA funding for the four years through 2030 to $20 million instead of the previously announced $10 million.
Infantino shared details of the project to FIFA management just one week after the July 19 final of the financially successful World Cup in North America that drove FIFA’s revenues to $15 billion for the 2023-26 commercial cycle 鈥� almost double the income tied to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Wenger said his FIFA duties were to 鈥渙versee 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.鈥�
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