Former International Olympic Committee (IOC) director fifa coins general Francois Carrard has been appointed to head the new reform task force of the scandal-plagued global football body FIFA.
FIFA confirmed on Tuesday that the 77-year-old Swiss lawyer, who guided the IOC through its own corruption scandal following the vote for 2002 Winter Olympics, won by Salt Lake City, will head an 11-person group charged with reforming FIFA.
Carrard, who served as director general of the IOC for 14 years until 2003, will lead the team of officials picked by FIFA's six continental confederations. World Cup sponsors will also nominate two members to the panel.
"It's a very big crisis, " Carrard said in a conference call with reporters. "The objective is to get acceptable reforms to the world and to restore FIFA's credibility. "
When the news of Carrard’s possible appointment was reported last week, Canadian lawyer Dick Pound, who headed the investigation into IOC corruption, said Carrard was a good choice. “Very suitable, assuming he is satisfied with the terms of reference, then he would be excellent, " Pound told Reuters. “He is an experienced lawyer, he has got good judgment. He has had a lot of international experience and exposure and he is Swiss which I think would appeal to an organisation like FIFA, who would probably not welcome anyone, certainly from North America or even the (British) Commonwealth, in that kind of position, " he said. “Deep-rooted structural change”.
Zurich-based FIFA has been in a deep crisis since May, when nine football officials and five marketing executives were charged by the US Justice Department in an indictment http://www.fifachampion.com that outlined massive corruption, including bribes and kickbacks of more than $150 million (CHF147 million) over 24 years.
