Zurich: FIFA is to discuss a possible new venue and date for its executive committee meeting in December that was originally planned to be staged in Japan, soccer`s governing body said on Tuesday.
The agenda for this week`s executive committee meeting in Zurich said that the date and venue for the following meeting would be decided on Friday.
A FIFA spokeswoman confirmed the matter was under discussion and gave no reason for the discussion. The calendar page on FIFA’s website continues to list Japan as the venue.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has largely avoided travelling abroad since 14 sports marketing executives and soccer officials, including several from FIFA, were indicted in the United States on bribery, money laundering and wire fraud charges.
Seven of those accused were arrested by Swiss police in a dawn raid on a luxury Zurich hotel two days before the FIFA congress where Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term.
Blatter shocked the soccer world on June 2 with the announcement that he would lay down his mandate. He is staying in office until a successor is chosen at an extraordinary FIFA congress on Feb 26.
Since then, his only official trip abroad has been to Russia for the World Cup qualifying draw in St Petersburg in late July.
Blatter has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but he has retained an attorney. Some lawyers with experience in international criminal cases have said Blatter would be ill-advised to travel after the U.S. indictments were announced.
Blatter told Germany`s Welt am Sonntag newspaper in an interview in July that he was playing safe.
