Ex-US Sec. of State Asked to Join FIFA Anti-Corruption Team

June 6, 2011

Henry Kissinger, 88-year-old former US Secretary of State, has confirmed he is considering FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s offer to take up a role with the governing body’s new anti-corruption committee.

Kissinger told BBC Radio 5 Live yesterday, June 5, that he had been approached by the re-elected president after he stood unopposed last week for a further four-year term. One of Blatter’s pledges was to create a ‘Solutions Committee’ to deal with corruption investigations.

Kissinger stated: “He’s not been specific, except to say he wants to create a group of wise men to deal with issues which may arise. If it can help, I’d be willing to participate but we need to know other participants and terms of reference.”

Kissinger, who won the Nobel Peace prize in 1973 and was a major figure in the Richard Nixon administration, was a member of the reform panel set up by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the scandal over Salt Lake City’s winning bid to host the 2002 Winter Olympics.

He is also a keen follower of soccer and was part of the bid team that secured the 1994 FIFA World Cup for the United States.