Opponents of FIFA President Gianni Infantino want to convince Arsene Wenger to run for the post in the 2027 elections, journalist Martin Ziegler reports in the “Times“. Nominations must be submitted by November 18, 2026, and the electoral congress will be held on March 18, 2027 in Rabat, Morocco. To be admitted to the race, each candidate must receive the support of at least five football federations.
Wenger has not yet announced his candidacy
Arsene Wenger is currently FIFA's director of global football development. The 76-year-old Frenchman has not officially announced his intention to run in the elections, and the publication presents his candidacy as an idea that Infantino's opponents are trying to push.
Wenger managed Arsenal from 1996 to 2018. During this period, the London club won three English championship titles and a total of seven times the Cup and Super Cup of the country. The team also reached the finals of the Champions League and UEFA Cup.
The Frenchman has also worked at Nancy, Monaco and the Japanese Nagoya Grampus Eight. With Monaco he won the French championship.
Montagliani does not plan to run
According to “The Times“ Victor Montagliani, the president of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, does not plan to run. The Canadian was among the names mentioned as a possible rival to Infantino.
Infantino himself has already confirmed his intention to run for another term. “I will be a candidate in the FIFA presidential election next year“, he told the world football headquarters' congress in May 2026.
Infantino was elected FIFA president in February 2016, after the corruption scandal that led to the resignation of Sepp Blatter. He was then re-elected twice without competition. At the moment, Wenger has not announced an official decision, and the final list of candidates will become clear after the nomination deadline in November. Ramon Vega announced his intention to run for president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) a few days ago.
Sources: bta.bg, lbc.co.uk