FIFA name sacked marketing director as new number two

ZURICH, June 27 (Reuters) FIFA have appointed Jerome Valcke as their new general secretary, less than eight months after sacking him as their marketing director.

Valcke, who was fired in December 2006 for his part in FIFA's botched sponsorship negotiations with credit card rivals MasterCard and Visa, will now be second in command to president Sepp Blatter.

''It's like a dream for me,'' Valcke told Reuters, confirming his appointment ahead of an official announcement by Blatter due later today.

Valcke originally joined FIFA in 2003 after leaving his former position as CEO of sports marketing firm Sportfive.

The Frenchman was then dismissed by FIFA along with three other colleagues when a New York court ruled that FIFA's marketing team had ''lied repeatedly'' during World Cup sponsorship negotiations with credit card company MasterCard.

In May an appeals court ordered that the case be re-examined but the two sides instead reached an out of court settlement with FIFA agreeing earlier this month to pay MasterCard 90 million dollars in compensation.

''I don't want to comment on the last few months when I was completely out on my own,'' Valcke told Reuters. ''Now I just want to look ahead and build on the excellent relationship I have with Mr Blatter.'' REUTERS BJR VV1709