The German committee responsible for organizing the country’s bid for the 2006 World Cup created a slush fund it used to bribe FIFA officials, according to a new report.
The German magazine Der Spiegel reports, citing internal documents, that the German bidding committee paid to secure the votes of four Asian members of the 24-person FIFA Executive Committee, the global organizing entity that oversees international soccer.
Before the bid was given to Germany in July 2000, the report continues, then-CEO of Adidas Robert Louis-Dreyfus secretly bankrolled the slush fund with a loan of 10.3 million Swiss Francs, or roughly six million U.S. dollars.
FIFA has said it would review the allegations, the latest charges of corruption for an organization which has already seen several senior officials indicted on corruption charges by both the U.S. Justice Department and Swiss officials.
- What Wildfire Smoke Does to the Human Body
- Prince Harry Breaks Royal Convention to Testify in Court
- Teens Are Taking Wegovy for Weight Loss
- Elliot Page: Embracing My Trans Identity Saved Me
- How a Texas High Jumper Has Earned Nearly $1 Million
- What the Debt Ceiling Deal Means for Student Loan Borrowers
- How Past Lives Combines Memoir and Artistry
- 7 Ways to Get Better at Small Talk
