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Australia tried bribes with taxpayers’ money and other dirty tricks in a failed $46 million bid to host soccer’s 2022 World Cup, a report says.
And the sport’s governing body in the nation, Football Federation Australia (FFA), was “well aware” of the conduct.
The report found Australia broke bid and ethics rules, tried to buy votes of decision-makers and then cover-up its attempts.
An exhaustive report by the ethics committee of soccer’s world governing body FIFA released summary findings on Thursday night (AEDT) which were damning of Australia’s bid.
The federal government tipped in almost $46 million for Australia’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup, but Australia gained just one vote. Hosting rights were awarded to Qatar.
Australia’s bid team tried to direct some of the government funds to essentially bribe decision-makers.
“The FFA was well aware of the ramifications such a pattern of conduct might imply,” said Judge Joachim Eckert, chairman of the ethics committee’s adjudicatory chamber, in his summary of the report.
The FFA said it would contact the committee about the “next steps in the process” and review the report’s findings before further comment.
The report detailed “potentially problematic facts and circumstances” in Australia’s bid, but ruled they didn’t affect the integrity of the end vote.
The ethics committee found “a prima facie case” that two consultants to Australia’s bid violated bidding and ethics rules.
The report identified connections between financial and other support for supposed `football development’ and the bidding process.
These included Australia donating money to the Oceania Football Confederation during the bid period.
“Australia’s acquiescence helped create the appearance that benefits were conferred in exchange for a vote, thus undermining the integrity of the bidding process,” Judge Eckert said.
The FFA also made “certain payments” to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
The payments appear to have been blended, in part, with personal funds of the then CONCACAF president – at the time, a FIFA executive committee member who would ultimately vote on who hosted the cup.
Australia’s 2022 bid team attempted to divert funds the federal government had set aside for existing development projects in Africa “towards initiatives in countries with ties to FIFA executive committee members with the intention to advance its bid to host”.
“The FFA was well aware of the ramifications such a patter of conduct might imply,” Judge Eckert said.
“Nevertheless … the Australia 2022 bid team appears to have reached the conclusion to provide financial support under the title `(football) development projects’ preferably in areas home to FIFA executive committee members.”
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