Wenger Emerges as Anti-Infantino Candidate

The race to find a candidate to challenge FIFA President Gianni Infantino continues, with Arsène Wenger's name gaining traction. The FIFA elections, scheduled for March 18, 2027, currently feature Infantino as the only candidate for re-election. The deadline for announcing candidacies is November 18, and the opposition is looking for an alternative.

The UEFA, in collaboration with Concacaf, aims to present a candidate against Infantino, following his unsuccessful attempt to privatize the World Cup. Initially, UEFA preferred a non-European figure, with Concacaf President Victor Montagliani as the main candidate, but this option appears to be losing momentum.

Recent reports from the newspaper L'Équipe revealed three potential candidates close to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. These include Sandor Csanyi, the President of the Hungarian Federation and FIFA Vice President, who is a billionaire potentially capable of financing a campaign; Razvan Burleanu, the President of the Romanian Federation, who had aspirations to succeed Ceferin before announcing his candidacy for another term in April; and former Portuguese Federation President Fernando Gomes.

No final decision has been reached, and UEFA is proceeding with discretion in this matter. Wenger, while still deliberating on his candidacy, has expressed disagreements with Infantino, particularly following the controversial move involving the FIFA president. As FIFA’s Director of Global Football Development, Wenger made it clear he was not informed about Infantino’s privatization intentions and opposed this initiative.

Additionally, Wenger recently faced a setback relating to his offside rule proposal, known as the "Wenger Law," which was reportedly dismissed by IFAB officials in their latest meeting. This rule aimed to adjust the offside criteria based on the attacker’s body position. Although there is encouragement from European football circles for Wenger to run, many doubt he will take such a decisive stand against Infantino, especially as he is currently engaged with the U15 World Cup finals in Azerbaijan.