Guatemala sports body backs down in fight with FIFA

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - A Guatemalan sports confederation has voted to reinstate a FIFA-appointed oversight committee, officials said, in a bid to head off the suspension of the country's national soccer federation.

(Reuters)

The vote came late on Tuesday. The Sports Confederation of Guatemala (CDAG) had blocked the committee from overseeing the federation known as Fedefut after four local players said they had been wrongly been accused of doping.

A CDAG assembly voted to revoke its action against the FIFA committee, CDAG president Dennis Alonzo told reporters.

Primo Corvaro, FIFA's head of member associations, said earlier this month that Fedefut risked suspension from the world governing body if CDAG did not back down from its "interference."

"FIFA's requirement was CDAG's sanction be revoked before Oct. 1, and that has now been done," said Stuardo Ralon, a member of the oversight committee. He said Fedefut was waiting for confirmation from FIFA that it would not be suspended.

CDAG is a sports governing body to which Fedefut belongs.

FIFA appointed the committee after the arrest of Fedefut's president Brayan Jimenez, who pleaded guilty in July to U.S. charges related to the sale of soccer broadcast rights.

(Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and David Gregorio)