Sepp Blatte proposes FIFA anti-corruption committee
Published:Monday | January 3, 2011 | 3:12 PM
FIFA president Sepp Blatter says he wants to set up an anti-corruption committee to police world football's governing body.
The move comes after allegations of corruption dogged FIFA throughout the bidding process and voting for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Blatter says the committee will strengthen FIFA credibility and give the world football's governing body a new image in terms of transparency.
Blatter further says the committee will consist of seven to nine members not only from sport but from politics, finance, business and culture.
The move to set up an anti-corruption unit will raise questions about the future of FIFA’s ethics committee, which investigated claims of corruption last year.
Following the investigation, FIFA executive committee members Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii were suspended over allegations they offered to sell their votes during bidding for the World Cup, which they vehemently denied.
They both subsequently missed December’s ballot in which Russia were chosen to host the 2018 tournament and Qatar the 2022 event, following a secret vote by the remaining 22 committee members.
During the bidding process for the World Cups, FIFA was also forced to investigate rumours of collusion between member associations and their bid committees in relation to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process.