Gianni Infantino celebrates 10 years as FIFA president this week, with former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger praising his influence on the game over the past decade.
Manager Arsene Wenger and FIFA President Gianni Infantino (Image: FIFA)
FIFA should be very “proud” of the “significant improvement” under Gianni Infantino’s 10-year reign, Arsene Wenger said. FIFA president Infantino will celebrate his 10th anniversary in office on Thursday, after a very eventful decade with soccer’s world governing body.
Wenger, a former Arsenal manager and FIFA’s head of world football development, said Infantino would help “change” the world by further developing educational programs at the academy and improving standards in small countries.
FIFA is adamant that it is a non-profit organization, pumping millions of dollars into the sport to keep many small countries afloat.
Wenger, the Frenchman’s coach, says Infantino is one of the main drivers of youth development, improving the women’s game and contributing to the expansion of major tournaments.
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Wenger said: “Overall, we’ve been through a lot. Being in FIFA you’re always under pressure and scrutiny, but I think the highlight was trying to develop the game by improving not only the game but the fundamentals of the game.”
“And if you look at the last 10 years and how football has moved in terms of the public, there’s been a lot of progress on that front and I think Gianni is always ready to move forward and create new ideas. He’s open to new ideas.”
“We are hosting a 48-team World Cup for the first time. Our goal is to establish 100 academies in 100 countries. This shows how big the impact is on a global scale. It will change the world.”
“And I am convinced that the U-15 World Cup and the U-17 World Cup every year will change world football. Believe me, it will change the world. So I think this is a very positive step.”
FIFA Global Head of Football Development Arsene Wenger and FIFA President Gianni Infantino
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“In the past decade, much has been done to help countries that have lagged behind Europe develop their potential.
“So that’s certainly the proudest moment, but if you look at the last 10 years, we’ve seen huge improvements in countries that were far behind, and slowly the levels have come together and are much higher everywhere around the world.
“In hindsight, I realize that for the first time in the last 10 years, FIFA has undertaken a very strong educational program.
“In the past, FIFA of course has done a lot of work and has done a lot of good work, but it was mainly about organizing competitions, adhering to the rules of the game, ensuring the rules of the game, and we wanted to be involved and move the game forward.
“But FIFA, for the first time in the last 10 years, is taking on an educational role and responsibility, and I think that’s going to change the world.”
Wenger said he was now realizing his goal of improving youth education when he took over at FIFA in 2019, which fully justified his decision.
Infantino celebrates his 10th anniversary as FIFA president this week (Image: AP)
Wenger added: “Gianni is a person who wants to move forward. He is always open to new ideas and I am grateful to him. He has been very supportive of my proposal to develop the academy and the players of each country and develop all countries.”
“He recognizes that every country deserves a chance and he helped me raise money and get funding votes from all federations to support this program.
“And I have to say he’s always keen to move things forward as a whole because he’s a huge supporter of the development program.
“I decided to join FIFA because I believe the best way to make an impact in the world of football is at the global level. To say yes to the question, ‘Would you like to join us and help improve the quality of the world game?’” And that was clear to me.
“You can see the world has changed. When you go to a tournament, everyone is excited to develop their potential and overall it’s a great success.”
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