Wenger weighs Fifa presidential run against Infantino ahead of November deadline
Arsene Wenger is seriously considering challenging Gianni Infantino for the Fifa presidency, with Uefa backing and a November 18 candidate deadline looming.
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is giving serious thought to standing against Gianni Infantino in Fifa's presidential election in March, according to the article. Senior figures in European football have hoped for weeks that the Frenchman would enter the race, and sources close to him say he has yet to decide.
Infantino's position has been shaken by the backlash over his failed plan to sell commercial stakes in the World Cup to private investors. He nonetheless retains support in South America, Africa and Asia and has insisted he has the backing of the "vast, vast majority" of world football. The article notes that backing could be tested should Wenger run.
Wenger, Fifa's head of global development, would have Uefa's support, the body that has led opposition to Infantino, and is described as having credibility across the football world. Wenger is 77, and some senior European figures have told BBC Sport they would be content for him to win and then step down before completing a four-year term. Sources close to him still regard Infantino as favourite to secure a fourth and final term.
The deadline for candidates to confirm they are standing is 18 November. Japan Football Association honorary president Kozo Tashima has announced his intention to stand, and former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega became the first person to put his name forward in October.
Questions over transparency persist. This month Fifa said "key documents" on the World Cup stake plan would be made available to council members, but only by travelling to its Zurich base under "strict protocols". Last month Uefa set a 2 November deadline for details on the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal and answers on decision-making, after Infantino apologised at a council meeting for the abandoned sell-off plot but did not explain how it was devised, asking for questions in writing.
Image: Getty Images / BBC Sport
