LEAD: Report: Ronaldo to become 2014 World Cup chief organizer

Nov 29, 2011, 21:49 GMT

Rio de Janeiro - Former Brazil striker Ronaldo is to become president of the local organizing committee for the 2014 World Cup, news reports said on Tuesday.

The news website G1 reported that Ronaldo, 35, has accepted the offer from Brazilian football federation chief Ricardo Teixeira, with the official announcement to be made on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro.

Up to now Teixeira is also head of the organizing committee.

The issue was first raised by Saturday's edition of the O Globo paper. Ronaldo, who played for Barcelona, Real Madrid and Milan among others, said then he knew nothing of it but also spoke of 'an honour' and that he would be 'thrilled to make some kind of contribution' to the World Cup preparations.

Ronaldo is a record World Cup scorer with 15 goals and won the biggest prize in football in 1994 and 2002. He ended his career this year at Brazilian club Corinthians.

Although the appointment was not yet official, top representatives of Brazilian sport commented on it Tuesday.

'As a player, Ronaldo was exceptional. We will now have to see what he can give us as an official,' former FIFA president Joao Havelange said at the international football fair Soccerex in Rio de Janeiro.

Carlos Alberto Parreira, who has coached Brazil and South Africa among many other teams, praised the decision.

'Ricardo Teixeira is facing political problems and we need someone else. Ronaldo will be a sort of ambassador for Brazil,' Parreira said.

Teixeira is under growing pressure for alleged corruption within the world governing body FIFA around the bankruptcy of a rights holder company. FIFA boss Joseph Blatter said recently he planned make public secret documents which reportedly may implicate Teixeira.

If the reports are true, Ronaldo would be the third former top star to turn chief organizer for a World Cup, following Michel Platini(France, 1998) and Franz Beckenbauer (Germany, 2006).

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