The recently publicly launched FIFA investigations are causing ripple effects in the sport of soccer. Billions were at stake during the 2004 World Cup host nation selection. The host nation results are hinged on the FIFA soccer’s governing body executive committee.
Revelations came to light that one single vote could tip the decision. Faithful to that effect, A FIFA football committee member from Trinidad and Tobago, one Jack Warner confessed. He stated that he shopped his ballot to the highest bidder.
2004 Mr. Warner flew down to Morocco where he was offered $1 million bribe to swing his vote their way. Unfortunately, the election didn’t work in Morocco’s favor as South Africa offered a sweeter deal. South Africa offered a whopping $10 million to a group under Mr. Warner’s control.
His vote went to South Africa and hence why South Africa was the 2010 World Cup host nation. If this happens, is it also safe to assume maybe the World Cup results are also tampered with somehow? Mr. Jack Warner was paid the $10 million, and a bigger chunk of the money was diverted for personal use.
The World Cup FIFA Body Arrests
The May 28 arrests on the FIFA governing committee did not however affect Sepp Blatter’s bid of becoming the body’s president for the fifth time. He won but resigned from the position some three days later.
FIFA is an international organization that is charged with the duties of governing how soccer/football is run. However, the multi-billion dollar organization has been hard hit by bribery accusations for decades.
Many leading organization heads were arrested that fateful Wednesday. Sepp Blatter was appointed as the president of FIFA in 1998. From his tenure, we saw how Sepp and his band of merry men/women, fleeced the soccer organization as they engaged in underhand deals.
On December 17th, 2014, Michael J. Garcia resigned his post as the FIFA Chief Ethics Investigator. He took a position that the organization the way it was running there was no hope of reforming. On May 29th 2015, FIFA’s then President Sepp Blatter, addressed a news conference reaffirming the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia and Qatar 2022 World Cup bids.
American officials gave a recount of how for decades the soccer business was engaged in corruption. The announcement from Federal Bureau Investigations (FBI) made this statement as they presented fourteen football officials and marketing officers with an indictment.
The indicted lot was accused of corrupting the football/soccer sport in two long decades of shady dealings and collecting bribes worth more than $150 million dollars. The investigations saw authorities describe International Soccer in terms that were used to describe Drug cartels and Mafia families.
The FBI was quick to respond and brought charges onto the accused, under racketeering laws that were a preserve of the groups of gangs and criminal organizations.
The Effect of the Arrest
The arrests of the FIFA committee members will profoundly impact the soccer business in North America. Investigations prove that over $110 million of planned bribes were linked to deals regarding 2016’s Copa America Centenary tournament.
The tournament is being held to bring together North America and South America nations for the first time to take part in a single sport. Close to $40 million of the bribes had already been distributed.
The amount of money paid out already was to cover for a tournament that was to be rolled out in stadiums across the US. The plan was to have big cable networks cover the sport and have in position the mainstream sponsors of the competition.
This is certainly going to be a World Cup controversy that’s going to be remembered for a long time.
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