Arsene Wenger returns to football, lands senior role at FIFA

Former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger has taken up a new role with Fifa as its head of global football development, the game’s world governing body has announced later on Wednesday.

The 70-year-old’s new job will involve aspects of Fifa’s development projects through its Forward program, under which $6m will be distributed to every football association in the world.

The role will also include chairing Fifa’s technical study group, and being a member of the technical panel of the International Football Association Board.

“I very much look forward to taking on this extremely important challenge,” he said.

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The move ends speculation linking the Frenchman, who left the Gunners in May 2018 after 22 years in charge, with a return to management as Bayern Munich boss.

Fifa unveiled Wenger as their choice to head the next phase of its football development.

Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, had made it one of his goals in the current tenure to try to introduce more football expertise and experience into the organisation’s management, as part of the response to the 2015 corruption scandals and the perception that Fifa had become too concerned with making money.

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