Wenger Appointed FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development
FIFA's new chief of global football development will be former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, the governing body has revealed.
Arsene Wenger has been confirmed as FIFA's chief of global football development.
The 70-year-old, who spent 22 years at the helm of Arsenal, has not managed since leaving the Gunners at the end of the 2017-18 season.
After leaving the Premier League club, Wenger had hinted at an imminent return to the dugout, and had also been linked to a slew of managerial vacancies, most recently at Bayern Munich following the dismissal of Nico Kovac.
However, the Frenchman has opted to take up a new administrative role with world football's governing body, FIFA.
Speaking at his unveiling, alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Wenger said: "I very much look forward to taking on this extremely important challenge, not only because I have always been interested in analyzing football from a broader perspective but also because FIFA’s mission as world football’s governing body is truly global."
FIFA described Wenger's new role in an official statement: "[He] will be chiefly responsible for overseeing and driving the growth and development of the sport for both men and women around the world.
"He will also be the leading authority on technical matters, both as a member of the Football and Technical Advisory Panels involved in The IFAB’s review and decision-making process on potential changes to the Laws of the Game, and as chairman of the FIFA Technical Study Group, which has conducted the technical analysis of FIFA tournaments since 1966.
"Leaning on a highly distinguished coaching career, Wenger’s role will include a particular focus on coach education, while he will also offer invaluable contributions to an executive programme – currently in its inception phase – tailored to encourage former professional players to enter management," the statement read.