FIFA has opened an investigation into allegations that Nigeriaââ¬â¢s Amos Adamu offered to sell his vote in the contest to host the 2018 World Cup.
Reporters from the Sunday Times newspaper posed as lobbyists for a consortium of private American companies who wanted to help secure the World Cup forà the United States.
They approachedà Amos Adamu, the Nigerian president of theà West African Football Unionà who also serves as a FIFA executive committee member.
At an initial meeting inà London, Adamu told reporters that he à wantedà US$800,000à ($807,673) for his private project.
A statement from FIFA read: ââ¬ÅFIFA and the FIFA Ethics Committee have closely monitored the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups and will continue to do so.
ââ¬ÅFIFA has already requested to receive all of the information and documents related to this matter, and are awaiting to receive this material.
ââ¬ÅIn any case, FIFA will immediately analyse the material available and only once this analysis has concluded will FIFA be able to decide on any potential next steps.
ââ¬ÅIn the meantime, FIFA is not in a position to provide any further comments on this matter.ââ¬
The footage, filmed by undercover Sunday Times journalists, shows Adamu wanting money to be paid to him directly for endorsing a bid. The reporters had posed as lobbyists for a United States bid. The US decided on Friday to withdraw from the running for the 2018 World Cup and instead concentrate on the 2022 competition. In the video, Adamu was asked whether the money for a ââ¬Åprivate projectâ⬠would have an effect on the way he voted, he replied: ââ¬ÅObviously, it will have an effect. Of course it will. Because certainly if you are to invest in that, that means you also want the vote.â⬠Reynald Temarii, president of the Oceania Football Confederation, is also alleged to have asked for a payment, in his case to finance a sports academy.
A European nation will definitely host the 2018 World Cup afterà the United Statesà pulled out of the race on Friday.
The US had been the last non-European bidders remaining in the race for 2018 followingà Australiaââ¬â¢sà withdrawal in June.
Their withdrawal leaves Englandââ¬â¢s as one of four European bids for 2018 alongsideà Russiaà and joint bids by Belgium/Netherlandsà andà Spain/Portugal.
Adamu has always been a controversial figure in sports in his country after several allegations of corruption were made against him involving the countryââ¬â¢s last hosting of the All Africa Games.
The most powerful man in Nigerian sport was recently removed from his post after 18 years involvement with the countryââ¬â¢s Sports Commission.
His removal from the post was suspicious as it came soon after the government rejected the overly huge budget for the hosting of the U17 World Cup.
No official reason was given for his removal but it came in the wake of the then presidentââ¬â¢s rejection of the budget presented by the Adamu-led Sports Commission.
Source:
http://www.afrikansoccer.com/2010/10/fifa-investigates-nigerias-adamu-over-voting-selling-scandal/