Blatter reveals re-election manifesto
Reuters - Friday 29 April 2011, 20:05
BERLIN - FIFA president Sepp Blatter
has vowed to consider changing the way World Cup hosts are
chosen if he is re-elected to his post in June.
Blatter, 75, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he
would like future hosts to be chosen by the FIFA Congress where
all 208 member associations vote.
The system would be similar to the one used by the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) for choosing Olympic Games
hosts.
"It's a project which I have in the back of my head," said
Blatter, who is running for a fourth term as FIFA president and
is being challenged by Asian Football Confederation president
Mohamed Bin Hammam.
Voting is currently restricted to the 24-man executive
committee, which was reduced to 22 when Russia and Qatar were
chosen as 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts last December as two
members were suspended after being found guilty of corruption.
Critics have said the small size of the executive committee
means it is not sufficiently representative.
"I would like to adopt the example of the International
Olympic Committee to avoid what has happened in the future," he
added.
"The executive committee receives 10 or 12 examples, has a
look at them, suggests which are the best ones and then lets the
general assembly vote.
"This would be a solution for FIFA, something positive."
Blatter added that he was confident of beating Bin Hammam in
the June 1 election.
"I think have about half the voices in Africa and Asia and a
big majority in the rest of the world," said the Swiss, who
criticised Bin Hammam for standing against him.
"I don't know why Bin Hammam has suddenly become so
aggressive.
"He said in the executive committee that he would not run
against me and now, despite that, he is doing so."
Blatter said he would also set up a watchdog committee to
oversee FIFA following the corruption allegations which led to
the suspension of executive committee members Reynald Temarii
and Amos Adamu last year.
That incident also led to criticism that FIFA, where most
decisions are taken behind closed doors at its Zurich
headquarters, lacks transparency.
"It would consist of people who are not from football," said
Blatter of the watchdog committee.
"I have already found the president, whose name I cannot yet
give. They should understand something about football, but
mainly bring back credibility."