FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development, Arsène Wenger, has expressed opposition to FIFA's now-abandoned $20 billion commercial arm proposal, insisting that football should remain independent and be governed with transparency and integrity.

The proposal sought to establish a new commercial entity to manage the revenue-generating activities of the FIFA World Cup and other major competitions.

Under the plan, FIFA intended to sell up to a 20% minority stake in the entity to private investors, targeting US$4.2 billion in funding. The investor group was expected to be led by Thrive Capital, founded by Joshua Kushner.

The proposal, which aimed to raise about US$4.2 billion from private investors, sparked widespread opposition from football stakeholders before FIFA formally withdrew it.

Although the proposal has since been abandoned, it has reportedly weakened FIFA president Gianni Infantino's standing ahead of the 2027 FIFA presidential election, with football associations in Wales, Sweden and Serbia withdrawing their support for his expected re-election bid.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, August 4, Wenger made it clear that he neither supported nor participated in the proposal, stressing that he first learned about it through media reports.

"The recent events at FIFA deserve some clarity from my side. At FIFA, I am the Chief of Global Football Development. In addition, I am a technical adviser to IFAB. 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 necessary and beyond question, because I firmly believe in an independent FIFA that serves our game with commitment, transparency, and integrity," part of his statement read.

Why FIFA dropped the proposal

Responding to criticism of the proposal in a formal statement, FIFA said its objective had always been to unite the global football community. However, after consulting member associations, confederations and other stakeholders, it concluded that the proposed commercial arm had created divisions that undermined that objective.

"And more so, as we said from the outset, to do this only if a majority of the FIFA Member Associations were in support and always subject to a consultation process with them, the FIFA Council, the Confederations and wider stakeholders," part of the statement said.

Consequently, FIFA announced that "this proposal will not proceed."

The governing body explained that, despite the level of support the proposal had received, the divisions it created were no longer in the best interests of football.

"Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place. Our purpose has always been - and will always be - to unite and improve," FIFA said.

Infantino added that he would engage stakeholders in the coming weeks to rebuild consensus and continue efforts to grow football globally, particularly in countries that require greater support.

"My intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support," he said.