The plan to sell the World Cup is foiled. Now, Gianni Infantino is digging his heels in as the bid to remove him as FIFA president gets underway. Arsene Wenger finally has his say and West Ham’s shareholders are moving the deckchairs at the London Stadium. Issue 121. Go.

When the kind of stories that threaten the existence of football’s current framework break, they have a habit of moving fast. The speed of travel is so quick, fuelled by the rush of outcry, that troops are mobilised in a bid to halt something so outrageous.

There is barely time for the idea to breathe before the resistance arrives, the footballing establishment seemingly instinctively moving to protect the status quo and eliminate such considerable threats to the sport.

It worked when the European Super League was concocted and it has seemingly done the same over the weekend, as the plan to sell the World Cup has been foiled. The weight of numbers decrying the idea placed Gianni Infantino on the back foot.

A realisation that maybe this was not such a good idea after all. But just as Icarus flew too close to the sun, it seems as if the FIFA president may have also burnt his wings.

All the through-points of the previous issue have been rendered moot by Infantino’s decision to shelve any FIFA private investment.

Now we’re left with the aftermath, following a wild weekend of statements across the footballing world and a growing sense that something has fundamentally shifted.

The idea has been kicked into the long grass, but the damage may already have been done.

Because now that the plan has been shelved, Infantino’s role as FIFA president feels untenable. Not that this will stop the Italian from digging his heels into the ground, and this is what makes the second act of this particular sporting play so interesting.

Because with a plan this outrageous, you have to see it through to keep yourself at the head of football. Otherwise, you place a huge target on your back, and that is precisely the target UEFA now want to hit in order to force substantial change.

European football’s governing body may have won the first battle, but now they need to win the war. And like most wars, there is always a sense of stalemate. Infantino knows that he may still have the votes because of the antiquated one nation, one vote setup.

There is a difference between not wanting the World Cup sold and not wanting a change of president, and that distinction is the leverage available to the 56-year-old.

The fact that the plan was defeated does not automatically mean that the people who opposed it want Infantino out. That is the crucial difference here and one that creates the current state of paralysis.

There are plenty of federations who could have looked at the World Cup proposal and decided it was one step too far, while still being perfectly happy with the FIFA president remaining in place.

Infantino will know that, and if there is one thing he has shown during his time at the top of world football, it is that he understands where the votes are.

However, that does not mean UEFA will simply sit back and accept the status quo remaining unchanged. Instead, they may look to pull on the same kind of levers that were being discussed should the World Cup sale have gone ahead.

Tournament boycotts could be one. UEFA could wipe out the value of the Club World Cup in one swift move if European clubs decided collectively that they had better things to do. Plans to run their own expanded European Championship have not been ruled out either.

Which means we now have an element of proxy war on our hands.

Are you on the European side, or are you backing Infantino? Wales have already sent a letter to FIFA withdrawing their support, the first shot fired out from the 55 European nations.

Whether there would have been quite so much weight behind the bullet if it had come from England can be argued, but the Welsh FA can be considered light infantry in the grand scheme of things.

That is why we now have a waiting game. The first battle has been fought, the World Cup sale has been shelved, but nobody has really won. The question now is who blinks first, because the next move could determine whether this becomes another uncomfortable episode for FIFA or the beginning of something much bigger.

And then there is Arsène Wenger.

The former Arsenal boss and now FIFA head of global development finally gave his say on proceedings on Tuesday, saying that the plan had to be scrapped and that doing so was “absolutely necessary and beyond question”.

But why the wait?

Was he waiting to see which way the wind blew? Was it about making sure his own credit within the game had not been wiped out by cosying up to Infantino? Or was Wenger simply waiting for the inevitable before distancing himself from a plan that had become politically toxic?

In fairness, Wenger has always been perceived as a man of great principle. But it is amazing what a FIFA gravy train can do to your morals over the years.

And now Concacaf have said there should be a full review of FIFA leadership, potentially giving UEFA another ally in its attempt to prise Infantino’s vice-like grip from the top of the game.

Whether that becomes enough to actually shift the balance of power is another matter entirely, because Infantino still has the one thing that matters most in FIFA politics and that for now is votes.

This is where the World Cup proposal may ultimately become less important than the fallout from it. Infantino tried to push the boundaries of what FIFA could become and discovered that there are still limits to what the footballing world will tolerate.

But discovering the limit and actually being removed from power are two very different things. The danger for UEFA is that it mistakes outrage for revolution. Infantino’s danger is that he mistakes survival for victory.

The World Cup isn’t being sold. The plan is dead. But the war over who gets to decide the future of football has only just begun.

When Amanda Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi sold their Newcastle shareholdings in 2024, there was always a sense that they would end up at an English club somewhere down the line.

Continual links with Tottenham have kept the online fires burning but it is West Ham where the husband and wife investment duo have now set their sights and at the start of the week, all looked in place for them to buy 25.1% of the East London outfit.

With the Gold family looking to sell their stake in the club, this seemed like the perfect re-entry point for Staveley and Ghodoussi but unfortunately it has now hit something of a roadblock.

The roadblock comes in the shape of fellow shareholder Daniel Kretinsky and with the Czech co-chair already owning 27% of the club, that plus the purchase of 25.1% would require him to launch a takeover bid.

However, that does not seem to be of interest to the current owner of Royal Mail but at the same time, the Golds’ share in West Ham does. So how do you buy that and still stay under 50% ownership?

You sell just over 2% to your compatriot Jakub Havrlant, a slight reduction then allows for an increased shareholding but more importantly, not enough to go past the takeover threshold.

A small move backwards to then move forwards and at the same time, halt the Staveley and Ghodoussi power base entering the club. Now, if it could sort out Second Class post in this country with the same efficiency that would be great. 91p for a stamp. Shocking.

Chelsea’s already large pool of players for this season has grown by one thanks to Mykhailo Mudryk’s four-year drug ban being halted. He hasn’t played a game since November 2024. Will he be in Xabi Alonso’s plans?

I’d wager probably not and a loan move could be the solution to this. Frank Lampard’s Coventry have been reported to be interested in acquiring his services. Failing that, there’s always the option to park him at the other BlueCo outfit Strasbourg.

After his supply teacher role at the World Cup as Tunisia manager, Herve Renard now finds himself back in permanent employment once again and he is once again manager of the Ivory Coast.

Of course, those who have followed Renard’s nomadic career closely will know that he won the 2015 edition of AFCON as manager of Ivory Coast. Will he be in charge long enough to try and conquer the African continent once again in 2027?

The 2026/27 Scottish Premiership got underway at the weekend and it’s as you were as far as Celtic are concerned. Far from brilliant but still managing to get the job done as they edged past Dundee at Celtic Park on Monday night.

While arch-rivals Rangers had to deal with the same frustrations when it comes to dropped points. They may have changed managers and personnel, but new boss Derek McInnes still needs to get to the root cause of their woes.

As for last season’s runners-up Hearts, it’s been a rough start to the campaign already. Dumped out of the Champions League qualifiers and seeing a single-goal lead wiped out in injury time as Aberdeen snatched all three points at Pittodrie.

Can lightning strike twice or is it already out of the bottle?

Former Hearts Women manager Eva Olid is reportedly set to take over Manchester United Women after the departure of Marc Skinner. The Spaniard left the Edinburgh outfit in the summer after clinching the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL).

Something of a shock move at the time, but the 40-year-old must have felt her stock was high and it seems as if the Old Trafford outfit are now set to invest in her.

National League outfit Boreham Wood are at the centre of a transfer tug of war and one that could be worth more than a million pounds to the club as Swedish outfit Djurgarden have their eyes on Abdul Abdulmalik.

Boreham Wood have already turned down bids of £750k and £1m and if they were to accept a higher offer third time round, it would mean a transfer fee higher than the £1m that Leicester paid Fleetwood Town for Jamie Vardy back in 2012 - a league record.

Now that a new season is on the horizon, I wanted to take a moment to ask for your help.

The Real Football Filter has now reached Issue 121.

That is more than a year of publishing twice a week, analysing the money, media, performance and power shaping the modern game.

The biggest challenge has not been finding things to write about. Football, thankfully, continues to provide endless stories.

The challenge has been making sure more people find it.

So if you have enjoyed reading, whether it is the first issue you have opened or you have been here since the beginning, I would really appreciate you sharing it with someone who you think would enjoy it.

Not because numbers are everything, but because the best newsletters grow through recommendation.

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