Wenger weighs FIFA presidency bid against Infantino as deadline nears

Arsène Wenger is considering standing against Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency, according to BBC Sport. It would pit FIFA's chief of global football development against the president he works alongside.

Sources close to Wenger told BBC Sport he has not yet decided whether to stand. He does not have long. Candidates must confirm they are running by Wednesday 18 November 2026, with the vote to follow at the FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco, on Thursday 18 March 2027.

The Irish Times reports that Wenger, who is 77, has been deliberating for several weeks, and that L'Équipe has described him as "tempted". He has held his FIFA development role since 2019, and Sky Sports notes he has continued working with Infantino while being discussed as a potential challenger.

Why Europe wants an alternative

The opening comes from a summer that shook Infantino's standing. According to The Irish Times, his position appeared under threat in 2026 after plans emerged to sell a minority stake in FIFA Forward Enterprise to private investors.

Three continental confederations, including UEFA, rejected the plan, and Infantino later abandoned it. UEFA said it had "lost confidence" in the president and began working to identify someone to run against him.

Wenger moved quickly to separate himself from the project. On Tuesday 4 August 2026 he said he was "not involved" and had first learned of it through media reports.

"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," he said, as quoted by The Irish Times.

Those words put him on the side of the plan's critics while he remained inside FIFA, which helps explain why his name has stayed in the conversation. But he is not Europe's settled choice. The Irish Times reports he is one of a number of candidates UEFA could support and is not yet seen as its preferred option, with others still being evaluated. The Independent also reports that UEFA is considering several potential candidates.

The numbers Infantino already has

Any challenger faces hard arithmetic. Sky Sports reports that FIFA's 211 member associations will vote and that a candidate needs at least 106 to win.

Infantino, president since 2016 and seeking re-election, has not faced a challenger in either of the two elections since he first took office. He has also been gathering support well beyond Europe. The Irish Times reports he has backing from Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America, and that on Friday 6 November 2026 the Caribbean Football Union's member nations added theirs.