By Douglas Baye-Osagie dbayeosagie@yahoo.com November 18 is almost here. That is the deadline for anyone who wants to challenge Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency to pick a nomination, and one name will not go away – Arsene Wenger. It is not a coincidence. For over a year football has been discussed in a very bad light.
Since America started preparing for and eventually hosting the 2026 World Cup, the conversation has been about money, expanded tournaments, sponsorships and politics. After the tournament itself, FIFA led by Giovanni Infantino almost sold stakes in its own competitions but for the protest of UEFA and major stakeholders who shouted down the idea. The players, the actual game, have been secondary. FIFA needs a reset going forward. Infantino will not be a pushover.
He goes into March 2027 seeking a fourth and final term and he enjoys almost total support from Africa, CONMEBOL and Asia – the blocs that deliver the numbers. He controls the purse through the FIFA Forward programme. Many federations will not bite the hand that funds them. And there are no serious football contenders. That is the problem.
The only man who has officially declared is Ramon Vega, a former Spurs defender turned property developer with no administrative base. The other names floated by UEFA – Michele Kang, the billionaire owner of Lyon and Washington Spirit, and Lise Klaveness, the brave Norwegian FA president – are respected but have no global electoral machine. We are left with political figures, business figures, but no football figure.
That is why senior figures inside UEFA and inside FIFA itself have been begging Wenger to stand. And Wenger should, because football needs a man of the game – and for once, a challenger who meets Infantino on his own turf. Take languages. FIFA