Sepp Blatter appoints members of new Fifa anti-corruption committee

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has announced the members of its new anti-corruption committee set to become fully operational in mid 2011.

Mr Blatter has appointed some of the most well-known and most influential individuals from around the world who Fifa believes will help in the battle against corruption within the organisation.

The members of the new committee include:

- Russian Premier Vladimir Putin
- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
- President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe
- President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko
- President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir
- Numerous key figureheads within the Burmese government
- Simon Cowell

These individuals were chosen following a gruelling selection process which contained some of the world's most respected people. The final decision was hard for Fifa to make, but Mr Blatter believes the right people were appointed.

Sepp Blatter said in a statement, "Choosing the members of this new committee was a tough decision, but Fifa feels we now have the right individuals in place to tackle any supposed corruption within the organisation."

"The individuals we chose have handled any opposition to supposed corruption with great ease and skill, with any lives lost being completely necessary and unavoidable."

"There has been a lot of rumours about Fifa's apparent corruption, particularly in selecting countries to host the World Cup. We hope that the appointment of this new committee will convince many people that Fifa is an open and transparent organisation where any corruption will not tolerated."

In light of the committee appointments, it has been announced that Zimbabwe, Belarus, Sudan and Burma will be given automatic byes to the next World Cup in 2014.

It has also been announced that Sepp Blatter will be given an automatic bye to the finals of the X-Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol.