Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has been appointed to a top post within Fifa, as international football’s governing body continues to make sweeping changes to its leadership in an effort to move beyond a scandal-hit past. 

The Frenchman, 70, will take up the newly created position of chief of global football development, giving him sweeping powers and a brief that includes shaping rule changes and initiatives to increase the number of players and fans.

The appointment bolsters Gianni Infantino, Fifa president, who replaced the disgraced Sepp Blatter in 2016. Mr Blatter’s 18-year reign was marked by a corruption scandal that led to dozens of top Fifa officials being arrested on bribery charges or disciplined on ethical grounds. He was banned from football activities for six years.

Mr Infantino has pledged to reform Fifa and moved to replace the vast majority of the governing body’s senior ranks. In a statement, he said Mr Wenger’s “arrival is just another example of how we keep strengthening our purpose to bring Fifa back to football and football back to Fifa”.  Fifa said Mr Wenger was charged with “overseeing and driving the growth and development of the sport for both men and women around the world” and would be considered the “leading authority on technical matters” around the sport.

He will also join the International Football Association Board, the body that decides on changes to football’s on-pitch rules, and chair Fifa’s Technical Study Group, a department that analyses matches at tournaments such as the World Cup.