Wenger among the top FIFA executives turning on under-fire Infantino

Two senior FIFA executives — coaching great Arsene Wenger and CEO-like secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom — distanced themselves Tuesday from their boss Gianni Infantino's failed plan to sell stakes in future World Cups to private investors.

Wenger said in a statement he knew nothing of the $20 billion plan and that it was "absolutely necessary" to drop the proposal, while Grafstrom sent an email to all FIFA staff — seen by reporters — calling the last week a "sad and reproachable series of events". He also said it created "turmoil which is difficult to comprehend and accept".

Neither directly named Infantino, nor offered support for the now-embattled president.

Late Tuesday, unconfirmed media reports in Britain suggested that Infantino would hold a crisis meeting with senior FIFA staff in Morocco on Wednesday.

The comments by Wenger and Grafstrom had echoes of the direct criticism from FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who said Friday that staff had been "deceived" by Infantino's private equity plan, which provoked a furor in global soccer. Lamour called it the "project of one person", and said FIFA staff" deserve better than contempt and intimidation".

The three executives are respected and trusted figures among the 211 FIFA member federations, which now hold sway over Infantino's grip on a presidency that looked unshakeable barely two weeks ago after the World Cup concluded.

UEFA legal threat

Wenger, Grafstrom and Lamour were also named among 18 executives whose data and communications should be retained as potential evidence in a letter from UEFA's lawyers to Infantino.

"You do not need to worry," Grafstrom wrote Tuesday to the hundreds of FIFA staff based mostly in Zurich and Coral Gables, Florida.

"I assure you, that, you, as members of the administration, you will be defended and safeguarded from the political context we currently experience."

Wenger, who was hired by Infantino in 2019 as FIFA's chief of Global Football Development, said he was "not involved in this strategic plan and first became aware of the project through media reports".

Infantino withdrew his $20 billion proposal early Saturday after a furious backlash by global soccer officials, including European body UEFA threatening a boycott of all FIFA games and events.

The plan would have created a subsidiary — known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) — to run the money-making parts of the not-for-profit soccer body's 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 percent in FFE, based on an equity valuation of $20 billion. The "anchor investor" would have been Thrive Eternal, a subsidiary of venture firm Thrive Capital, launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump.

"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 wrote.

Cash offers

FIFA's 211 member federations — already effective owners of the governing body as a nonprofit association under Swiss law — 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 a week after the July 19 final of the World Cup in North America that drove FIFA's revenues to $15 billion for the 2023-26 commercial cycle — almost double the income tied to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Grafstrom, a long-time loyal aide to Infantino since their work together at UEFA, urged FIFA staff to "all continue being proud and happy" about the first 48-team World Cup.

"A sad and reproachable series of events — which were thankfully concluded with the FFE project permanently abandoned — for as much as we feel dismayed by them, should not overshadow this reality," he wrote.

Infantino came under even more pressure when former FIFA vice-president, Jordan's Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, criticized the soccer body's leadership on Tuesday, describing the withholding of prize money from the Jordan national team as "amounting to blackmail".

Prince Ali said he was told verbally that endorsing Infantino for re-election "could go a long way towards helping our FA out".

The federation had complained about not being paid for Jordan's run to last year's FIFA Arab Cup final, and about its team's fans not being given visas to watch their World Cup debut in the US.

The Athletic also reported Tuesday that the 11 World Cup host cities in the United States are chasing up legacy payments of $1 million each that were "repeatedly" promised to them by FIFA.

Ties to Trump

The World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico was adjudged to be as much a success on the field as it was financially, though it had unprecedented issues linked to Infantino's once seemingly close ally Trump, who received a specially created FIFA Peace Prize at the tournament draw in December.

During the tournament, Iran's team could not stay in the US where it played three games, a Somali referee picked by FIFA was refused entry, and US forward Folarin Balogun was allowed to play against Belgium, despite receiving a red card in his previous game.

"We have all been thrown into the middle of a turmoil, which is difficult to comprehend and accept, but, as secretary-general, I urge you to remain focused on what has always united us," Grafstrom wrote. "I will continue to support our teams, our work and our mission every hour of every day for as long as my work is valued by those we serve."

Letters of support

Infantino has not commented in public on the schism in soccer since a FIFA statement early Saturday announcing that the proposal had been dropped.

His official Instagram account has posted letters of support from several member federations, including the United Arab Emirates, 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco and 2022 host Qatar.

Infantino has been president of FIFA for more than 10 years and had seemed sure to be re-elected unopposed next March. FIFA has set a Nov 18 deadline for challengers to come forward, with Sweden's soccer chief saying Monday that UEFA is seeking a rival candidate.