A 2007 email between supposed-to-be-resigning FIFA president Sepp Blatter and then-South African president Thabo Mbeki discussed $10 million that went to allegedly corrupt soccer executives as a payment for the country’s successful 2010 World Cup bid, reports South Africa’s Sunday Times ($).
According to the newspaper, FIFA secretary general and Blatter’s second-hand man Jerome Valcke asks in the email when the $10 million will be transferred, a dollar figure “based on discussions between FIFA and the South African government, and also between our President [Blatter] and President Thabo Mbeki.”
The U.S. Department of Justice alleged in their recent indictment of FIFA officials the $10 million went to former FIFA vice president Jack Warner and other senior execs as payback for FIFA voting South Africa as the host of the 2010 World Cup. Warner, you may remember, is a fucking idiot.
According to the Sunday Times, the money was wired from FIFA to three accounts controlled by Warner in early 2008. FIFA and the South African government claim the money was legitimate, and the South African cash was used for soccer development in the Caribbean region overseen by Warner. The money instead made its way to Warner and American executive Chuck Blazer, who admitted to receiving bribes for the South Africa vote.
The 79-year-old Blatter has yet to be specifically accused in the DOJ investigation, but it would appear the links between him and the alleged corruption are becoming much stronger.
[ESPN FC | Sunday Times]
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