The former Manchester City footballer has become a presidential candidate in the neighboring country.

Before the upcoming elections in Georgia, the ruling party, the Georgian Dream Party, has nominated Mikheil Kavelashvili, who previously played for the English team Manchester City, as its presidential candidate.

In the elections to be held on December 14, Kavelashvili stated that he would run for the presidency with the mottos of 'preventing polarization in society' and 'protecting the interests of the country.'

ELECTION ON DECEMBER 14

Reminding that the election will be held on December 14 according to the decision announced by the parliament yesterday, Ivanishvili expressed that for the first time in the country's history, the president will be determined by an election board consisting of 300 people. Noting that 150 members of parliament will also be part of the election board, Ivanishvili argued that since they have a majority in parliament, the candidate supported by the ruling party will win the election.

STARTED HIS CAREER AS A FOOTBALL PLAYER

Born on July 22, 1971, in the city of Bolnisi, Georgia, Kavelashvili began his education at the Faculty of Economics at Tbilisi State University in 1989. Starting his sports career as a football player in 1990, Kavelashvili played for football clubs in Georgia, England, Switzerland, and Russia until 2006. He wore the jersey of the Georgian National Football Team from 1992 to 2002. In 2016, Kavelashvili entered parliament as a member of the Georgian Dream Party. He was also elected as a member of parliament from the same party in 2020, and on June 28, 2022, he left the Georgian Dream Party and, along with other members of parliament, founded the People's Power Party.

PLAYED IN 317 MATCHES

Kavelashvili played for Manchester City from 1997 to 1999. Playing as a striker, Kavelashvili appeared in 317 matches during his career and recorded a performance of 93 goals and 8 assists in those matches.