Kissinger ponders Blatter's offer of FIFA 'wise men' role

Tuesday, 7 June 2011 00:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is considering an offer from FIFA president Sepp Blatter to take up a role in his new anti-corruption committee, he said on Sunday.

Blatter, re-elected unopposed earlier this week with FIFA battered by corruption allegations, immediately created a Solutions Committee and named 88-year-old Kissinger as someone he would like to see involved in the anti-corruption watchdog.

"He's not been specific, except to say he wants to create a group of wise men to deal with issues which may arise," Kissinger told BBC Radio 5 Live, referring to the approach from Blatter.

"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, is a keen soccer fan who was involved in the United States' successful bid to host the 1994 World Cup.

He was also 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.

Blatter secured another four years in charge of FIFA after a vote in Zurich on Wednesday and immediately pushed through changes intended to make the choice of World Cup hosts more democratic and beef up the fight against corruption.

The crisis that hit FIFA over the last month centred on Asian Football Confederation (AFC) chief Mohammed Bin Hammam's ultimately aborted campaign to take on Blatter in the election and it also re-ignited the debate over the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Bin Hammam's home country Qatar.