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.
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 is a long time soccer fan, 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.
He said, "When the World Cup was here in '94 it evoked tremendous enthusiasm,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."
(CCTV March 31, 2009)
