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STAIN ON THE GAME
StarTwo, June 16, 2006
FOUL!
The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandals
Author: Andrew Jennings
Publisher: HarperSport
THIS is without a doubt one of the most compelling reads I’ve had in a long time. Not only is there drama and mystery, there are also the good guys and bad guys.
Such is the story of Federation Internationale de Football Association’s great scandals involving its president Sepp Blatter and one of its vice-presidents, Jack Warner.
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| Foul! by Andrw Jennings.
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The book is well researched and covers many countries. It starts with a document arriving at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
It is notification of payment into FIFA’s bank account. Erwin Schmid, FIFA’s director of finance, reacts immediately, taking the document to Blatter.
Blatter is horrified. The payment is from ISL, FIFA’s marketing company. The payee is a senior official in football. It should never have been banked into FIFA’s account. This irregularity goes unreported.
Instead, the payment is transferred from FIFA’s account to the payee’s account.
Nothing else is said or done about the matter.
The book reveals that Blatter had been claiming expenses from FIFA for his own presidential campaign.
We’re not talking a few dollars here and there. The total is 68,559.70 Swiss francs (at today’s conversion rate, RM205,679.10).
This is for phone, fax and DHL courier service (12,527.70 Swiss francs) and travel expenses (56,032 Swiss francs).
Then there is the matter of the memo from fomer FIFA president Joao Havelange instructing the finance department to pay Blatter a six-figure “loyalty bonus” every July 1.
There is also the story of how certain people have helped fund or win votes for Blatter in return for favours in terms of football grants, World Cup tickets and contracts.
CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) president Jack Warner of Trinidad & Tobago, who allegedly helped Blatter win votes in the 2002 presidential election, benefited from his association with Blatter.
Warner built the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence in Trinidad. It is a 6,000-seat football stadium with three practice fields, a swimming pool, offices, a conference hall and a 50-bed inn for visiting officials.
Warner needed US$16mil to build the centre. FIFA’s total budget for the entire CONCACAF region – of which Trinidad & Tobago is a part – for the years 1999 to 2002 was US$10mil. FIFA ended up giving the entire budget to Warner for the building of this centre. In addition FIFA guaranteed a bank loan for another US$6mil.
Eighteen months after the opening of the centre, Warner still hadn’t repaid any part of the bank loan. FIFA then sent him a letter saying that since the CONCACAF did not have the means to repay the loan, FIFA would settle it.
Here’s an even more ludicrous part: Each time FIFA wants to use the centre for its programmes, it forks out money for it.
Here’s the breakdown of costs for a four-day seminar attended by 32 participants:
Use of conference room – US$750 a day;
Food for each participant –US$468;
Accommodation for each participant – US$500;
Renting of audio-visual equipment – US$12,000;
“Other” equipment –US$3,000;
Advertising and promotions – US$2,500;
Certificates per participant – US$50;
and Miscellaneous – US$4,000
FIFA paid, and congratulated Warner for taking the initiative to organise such useful courses. And how often has this expensive centre been used? Thirty-six days in 2001 and 35 days in 2002.
Warner’s son’s travel company had the monopoly on World Cup tickets. Simpaul Travel – sold packages to fans in Trinidad & Tobago, making a profit of around £1,700 (RM11,390) per package.
In another controversy, tickets in the name of Mohamed bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Confederation, found their way to touts. FIFA claims Mohamed has no knowledge of how this happened.
Jennings devotes a whole chapter to how he tried asking Blatter many times to clarify some of these issues including the million-dollar question: How much is Blatter’s salary, plus bonuses, allowances and pension contributions?
Despite the promises of transparency, the FIFA president was still giving Jennings the runaround to this question and many more.
Blatter also tried to stop Jennings from publishing this book and when that failed, he attempted to have it banned.
This book makes for an extremely compelling read. Even though there are many characters and many plots and twists and scandals, Jennings has done a great job telling the story clearly. There is even a timeline, cast list and itemised index at the back for easy reference.
Jennings has an impressive record. In 1989, his book Scotland Yard’s Cocaine Connection was published. It revealed the relationship between London’s top gangster and the city’s top detective. In the 1990s he wrote three books on corruption and organised crime within the International Olympic Committee.
He has won many awards for his investigative reporting, writing and films. Among them is the “Integrity in Journalism” from OATH, a new grouping of Olympic stars dedicated to cleaning up sport.
Jennings asked the hard questions in person. The questions remain unanswered. But now that this book is out, won’t more people want to know the truth?
Just how much does Blatter make in a year? Did he bribe FIFA members to win votes? Who did ISL pay off at FIFA? How are the touts getting original tickets if not through a source at FIFA? Why was Warner’s son given exclusive rights to sell World Cup tickets to fans in Trinidad & Tobago?
Copyright Star Publications
Related story:
Stain on the game
ALSO:
Up for the Cup, June 6, 2006
Getting Ready for World Cup, May 26, 2006
Talking Ball With: Shebby, September, 2005
Woosie the Wee Wonder, Feb 18, 1993
The Affable Lineker, June 17, 1991
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