- Title: USA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Henry Kissinger helps U.S. bid to host World Cup
- Date: 31st March 2009
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MARCH 30, 2009) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) HENRY KISSINGER, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, SAYING: "Soccer is a game of strategy but it's very subtle but it's also a game of enormous competition so it shows some elements of diplomacy within the team because you have to get the team together to play as a group. But usually amon
- Embargoed: 15th April 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA1DWTXZ8FJ0WRNMOBYY616IEED
- Story Text: Former U.S. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, will be using his diplomatic skills to convince FIFA that the United States should host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. He successfully bid for the U.S. to host the 1994 World Cup.
Story: He's negotiated successfully with the Chinese, pioneered the policy of détente with the former Soviet Union and brokered a ceasefire in Vietnam so it's no surprise that the U.S. Soccer Federation wanted former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to use his powers of persuasion for a new diplomatic challenge - to convince the soccer world that the U.S. should host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.
Kissinger, a long time soccer fan, recently announced that he has joined the board of U.S. organizers in its bid to host the event. It's not the first time he's lobbied on behalf of U.S. soccer. The statesman was chairman of the advisory committee in 1988 and successfully bid to host the games in 1994.
Many were skeptical with the choice then convinced that Americans were not fans of soccer but the event broke all attendance records for the sport.
"When the World Cup was here in '94 it evoked tremendous enthusiasm," said Kissinger.
"I was on the board of it then.
Stadiums were filled with enthusiastic crowds and often at the preliminary round of the World Cup attendance is mediocre but in America all the stadiums were filled for every game and I think it would give soccer a tremendous shot in the arm."
Kissinger, who was born and raised in Fuerthe, Germany, said his love for the sport started at a young age after his home team won three German championships in a row.
"As a kid, I kept sneaking off to soccer games. My father thought I'd learn more at opera. I was bound to get caught because it was a small town so it was sort of a suicidal thing to go to the game," he said.
While Kissinger's first love may have been sports, politics became his raison d'être. He was Secretary of State during the Nixon administration and has been an influential diplomatic advisor since then. He said that soccer and diplomacy have elements in common.
"Soccer is a game of strategy but it's very subtle but it's also a game of enormous competition so it shows some elements of diplomacy within the team because you have to get the team together to play as a group. But usually among highly competitive teams they don't give any quarter to the other side so it's more like war in that respect than diplomacy."
Like a true diplomat, Kissinger didn't name just one team as his favorite but said he preferred those that play heavily on the offensive like Brazil, Argentina and France. The USA Bid Committee will be presenting its detailed bid to the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) in May 2010. Eight other countries have expressed interest and the chosen hosts for both 2018 and 2022 will be announced in December 2010. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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