Blazer reveals Fifa bribe taking in return for World Cup favours
WHISTLEBLOWER Chuck Blazer last night admitted that he and other Fifa officials accepted bribes in return for voting in favour of South Africa hosting the 2010 World Cup.
The revelations, made in a testimony published by the United States Department of Justice, came little more than 24 hours after besieged president Sepp Blatter announced his shock resignation from the head of scandal-hit world governing body Fifa. Blazer, who is a former Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) general secretary and Fifa executive committee member between 1996 and 2013, also conceded that he facilitated a bribe relating to the staging of the 1998 World Cup. “I and others on the Fifa executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup,” said Blazer. “I agreed with other persons in or around 1992 to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup. I and others agree that I or a co-conspirator would commit at least two acts of racketeering activity.”
Blazer’s testimony means that the voting processes for the 1998, 2010, 2018 and 2022 World Cups are all under investigation.