Former Arsenal manager and now FIFA Chief of Global Football Development, Arsène Wenger, is no longer expected to run for the post of FIFA president, according to reports from BBC Sport, Sky Sports and The Athletic.
According to multiple reports, sources close to Wenger say he has ruled himself out of challenging Gianni Infantino. The Athletic also reported that he had informed UEFA that he was not currently intending to stand.
Previously, Sky Sports and The Athletic reported that Wenger could be in contention to challenge his own boss, potentially posing a major challenge to Infantino, as he could emerge as a favourite for UEFA and other federations that have fallen out with the FIFA president since his proposed plan to sell a 20% stake in FIFA’s commercial operations to private investors in a bid to raise approximately $4.2 billion.
The proposal, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), was intended to generate additional funding for football development across FIFA’s 211 member associations. However, it attracted opposition from several confederations, particularly UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC. FIFA subsequently confirmed that the proposal had been withdrawn.
Only the Confederation of African Football (CAF) unanimously supported Infantino’s proposed initiative and declared its support for him ahead of the coming election, while UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC emerged as prominent critics of the proposal. CONMEBOL maintained a more cautious position, while the position of OFC was not clearly established in the reports.
The election process opened on April 30, 2026, and any individual interested in contesting the position must have made their intention known before the deadline on November 18, which falls on Wednesday. Arsène Wenger has not made any public declaration of interest in the election, and his decision to stay out of the race now appears increasingly likely.
According to Sky Sports, UEFA is still seeking a strong challenger against Infantino before the November 18 deadline, as the European governing body is no longer expected to support the 56-year-old FIFA president in the coming election.
