INTERNATIONAL: World football governing body, FIFA, is to receive $201-million in compensation for losses sustained in global corruption schemes. The announcement has been made by the United States Department of Justice. The money was seized from the bank accounts of former officials who were involved in a number of schemes, following a probe into years of corruption within the world of football.
The probe was launched in 2015 and more than 50 defendants have been criminally charged. Most of them were either senior soccer officials or sports marketing executives, taking bribes for arranging tournaments, venues and broadcasts. The funds will go into a new World Football Remission Fund to help finance football-related development projects across the globe. FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has welcomed the news:
“This is a great victory for FIFA and a great victory for football. I want to sincerely thank the U.S. Justice authorities for their efforts in this respect, for their fast and effective approach in bringing these matters to a conclusion, and also for their trust generally. The truth is that, thanks to their intervention back in 2015, we have been able to fundamentally change FIFA from a toxic organisation at that time, to a highly esteemed and trusted global sports governing body."
The US Department of Justice says its work is not finished and that dozens of other investigations into kickbacks and bribes continue.
