Governing Bodies
FIFA STILL CHASING MISSING $10.3 MILLION LINKED TO GERMANY 2006 WORLD CUP BID
BY MICHAEL HOUSTON
FIFA President Gianni Infantino says the organisation is still trying to get its money back despite a fraud trial over a CFH10 million (£8.3 million/$10.3 million/€9.5 million) payment in relation to the 2006 World Cup collapsing.
Infantino also hinted that the FIFA Ethics Committee will pursue its own investigation into the accused, according to Inside World Football.
Former leading German Football Association (DFB) officials Theo Zwanziger, Wolfgang Niersbach and Horst Schmidt, as well as former FIFA secretary general Urs Linsi, had been charged.
Prosecutors alleged that they misled the DFB about the destination of the payment, yet the Swiss trial ended without a verdict in April after the five-year statute of limitations passed.
Legendary German footballer Franz Beckenbauer, who led Germany’s bid for the 2006 World Cup and was chairman of the Organising Committee, was under investigation but never charged owing to his health, according to the Office of the Attorney General.
The coronavirus pandemic contributed to the statute of limitations passing.
he DFB claims the payment was the return of a personal loan taken out by Beckenbauer from then-Adidas chief executive Robert Louis-Dreyfus, which went through a FIFA account, but investigators noted that the DFB had earmarked the payment as a contribution to a non-existent World Cup gala event.
Allegations have been raised over the legitimacy of the 2006 World Cup bid, which was successful by just a one-vote margin as Germany beat South Africa 12-11 in the final round.
The Office of the Attorney General claimed the money ended up in the possession of a Qatari company belonging to the disgraced Mohamed Bin Hammam, a former FIFA Executive and Finance Committee member who was banned from the sport for life for various offences in 2011.
“Of course we are not happy with the way the process was concluded,” Infantino said in a video press conference.
“Just because the process was not concluded in time, it doesn’t mean… we are going to sit down as if nothing happened.
“Ten million Swiss francs were paid out of a FIFA account.
“Even if it was many, many years ago – much earlier than when I became FIFA President – it’s something we cannot just sit still about and accept.”
Infantino also suggested the accused could still be held accountable by FIFA.
“We will continue to analyse this and we also have our ethic bodies as well who are looking into it,” he added.
“Obviously they were all waiting for the outcome of the Swiss criminal process.
“The story has not finished, even if it concerns the past, we will not accept that 10 million Swiss francs can just go out without a proper reason.”
FIFA has been dogged by corruption scandals for much of the last decade, with investigations into some still ongoing.
Earlier this week, former FIFA deputy secretary general Markus Kattner was banned from football for 10 years after being found guilty of conflicts of interest and abusing his position in the wake of an illicit bonus and pay rise scheme.
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and ex-secretary general Jérôme Valcke, who were also implicated in the investigation, are serving six- and 10-year bans from the sport respectively.
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The president of the Confédération of African Football, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, has announced five new CAF Vice Presidents. They are:
- CAF First Vice President: Mr Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)
- CAF Second Vice President: Mr Kurt Okraku (Ghana)
- CAF Third Vice President: Mr Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
- CAF Fourth Vice President: Ms Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- CAF Fifth Vice President: Mr Feizal Sidat (Mozambique)
In addition, the CAF President has co-opted Yacine Idriss Diallo, President of Fédération Ivoirienne de football, into the CAF Executive Committee.
The CAF Executive Committee also approved the names to fill vacant positions on several CAF Committees.
Organising Committee for the African Nations Championship (CHAN)
- President: Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
CAF Technical and Development Committee
- President: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- Vice President: Malouche Belhassen (Tunisia)
CAF Medical Committee:
- President: Dr. Mohammed Bouya (Mauritania)
- Vice President: Dr. Thulani Ngwenya (South Africa)
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Governing Bodies
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
Laurels on the courts and now glory in the boardroom sums up the mark that badminton is making in Nigeria.
The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Xiamen, China.
Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries.
He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out.
An elated Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support.
He said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers across the badminton world.
“I look forward to quality representation, driving development initiatives, and strengthening badminton’s global reach over the next four years.”
Orbih also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the National Sports Commission (NSC), which he said played a significant role in his successful bid.
“The Chairman and the Director General of the NSC monitored the entire process. I’m grateful for their involvement and confident Nigeria will benefit from this,” he stated.
He further appreciated the BFN board members and the Nigerian badminton community for their prayers and continued belief in his leadership.
“From the day I declared my intentions, the board members of BFN have been supportive, and I promise not to disappoint them,” Orbih concluded.
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A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.
Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.
He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.
The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.
He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.
Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.
While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.
-Reuters
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