FIFA's Blatter to Investigate Possible Corruption in 2018 World Cup Selection

FIFA has just opened an investigation in response to an article published in a magazine "The Sunday Times." The article reported that certain members of FIFA have asked for payment in return for their votes, which is illegal.

The Sunday Times filmed a meeting between Amos Adamu, a member of the FIFA Executive Committee, and two journalists who were posing as representatives of a United States Consortium. Amadu asked the journalists for $800,000.

The purpose of the money, according to Amadu, is to construct four artificial turf fields in Nigeria. In exchange, USA would get first vote in 2018, and second in 2022.

Reynald Temani, President of the Oceania Football Confederation, asked for $2.3 million to fund a Soccer Academy in Auckland, New Zealand. He also said that representatives of two bidding countries had asked for $10 to $12 million.

The undercover journalists asked Amadou Diakite, of the Referee Committee Member of FIFA, and Slim Aloulou, of the Dispute Resolution Committee, how much money to offer. Their response was $1 million, with Aloulou saying "peanuts" should now be paid.

Adamu and Temani were unavailable for any comments, and did not respond to any requests for interviews. Sunil Gulati, President of the US Soccer Federation, and Chairman of the US Bid Committee, states that they had nothing to do with the story, and were not associated with the journalists.

Mr. Gulati has also declared that he will leave FIFA to continue and complete the investigation.

What has happened with the FIFA World Cup bribery scandal is a disgrace. It is also a disgrace that top members of FIFA may want to destroy the reputations of the USA, Australia, and other countries.

It is hoped that FIFA will investigate and punish those who attempted to compromise the World Cup selection process. It is also hoped that the countries who presented their candidacies are able to continue with their candidacies without incident.