Gary Lineker has denied accusations of hypocrisy over his decision to co-host the World Cup draw in Russia on Friday.
Former England striker Lineker, the top scorer in the 1986 tournament, will be joined by Russian sports journalist Maria Komandnaya, FIFA announced last month.
Lineker has been a staunch critic of world governing body FIFA, accusing it of behaving like a dictatorship with a "nauseating" level of "corruption."
He has previously criticised the decision to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia, calling it "ludicrous."
The Telegraph reported him as saying that he would not have agreed to co-host the draw had disgraced former president Sepp Blatter still been at the helm.
But Lineker said new appointments within FIFA, including that of Netherlands legend Marco van Basten, meant things were beginning to change.
"If Blatter had still been in charge, I would not have done it," he said. "So they are making changes and it is only fair to give them the opportunity."
He said he "never had a massive problem" with Russia hosting the tournament and added: "It's a proper football country that has never had it.
"It's the next one [Qatar 2022] that I am not supportive of where that's going, and they know that.
"They are absolutely completely happy for me to still have my strongly felt beliefs, and if I think there is something wrong, I will continue to say so.
"Most of the old guard, the ones responsible for the corruption, are now, thankfully, either suspended or locked up or about to be locked up.
"I am not naive enough to think that all the problems will go away, but I wouldn't have done it if it was still the old guard with Blatter."
Lineker said reaching "the quarterfinals or beyond" would be "a massive bonus" for Gareth Southgate's England team.
And he joked: "I've already taken care of the group for England -- once they get to the knockout stages, it's up to the team."