Henry Kissinger interested in helping Fifa reform group
Last updated on .From the section Football
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has told BBC Radio 5 live he is interested in joining Fifa president Sepp Blatter's committee of 'wise men'.
Blatter has invited him to join his new committee to improve accountability.
"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, 88, told Sportsweek.
"If it can help I'd be willing to participate but we need to know other participants and terms of reference."
The German-born Kissinger was a key figure in the Richard Nixon administration and won the Nobel Peace prize in 1973.
He is a life-long football fan, having been a major player in America's successful bid to host the 1994 World Cup.
He was also involved in reform of the International Olympic Committee following the scandal over Salt Lake City's winning bid to stage the Winter Games in 2002.
Last week Blatter was elected president of world football's governing body for the fourth time, after an unopposed election.
Fifa has come in for heavy criticism over allegations of corruption, particularly in relation to the vote on the venue of the 2022 World Cup.
As a result Blatter announced a raft of reform plans, including allowing Fifa delegates rather than the executive committee to vote on the hosting of future World Cups, and the establishment of a solutions committee including leading figures from inside and outside the game, such as Kissinger.
On the same programme, Football Association chief executive Alex Horne said he was "not losing sleep" over the likelihood of any backlash from Blatter or Fifa following the FA's failed attempt to block his unopposed election, and he hoped the FA could continue to play a role in world football.
"We intend to work constructively now to support Blatter with his wise men committee so we'll take it sensibly going forward," he said.
"Fifa are a very successful organisation, the work they do is incredibly powerful and we empathise with a lot of that work.
"We are still respected as a football nation, so we'd hope to be able to carry on working with Fifa helping world football.
"We've written to him [Blatter] and we'd be happy to meet him face-to-face."