With South Africa implicated in the Fifa corruption scandal, the spotlight also falls on SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan, who was due to be endorsed as mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro today.
Jordaan was the chief executive of the local organising committee for the 2010 World Cup. Last week the ANC announced that Jordaan was going to be the new mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.
The US’s FBI yesterday arrested nine high-ranking Fifa officials. Among them was a former Fifa vice-president, Jack Warner.
The officials allegedly received bribes of about $150 million (R1.8 billion).
They are charged with racketeering, fraud and money laundering, among other offences.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has not been charged.
According to the FBI’s indictment, the South African government and the bid committee, including a “co-conspirator 16”, were prepared to arrange for the government of South Africa to pay $10m to the Caribbean Football Union to “support the African diaspora”.
Jordaan said yesterday he welcomed the investigation, although he refused to comment further.
ANC spokesperson Keith Khoza said because no South African names had been released by the FBI, Jordaan’s endorsement as mayor would continue today.
“We will not draw (Jordaan) into the speculation. It would only be fair to comment once the investigation has been concluded,” Khoza said.
The indictment says: “In the months before the selection of the host nation for the 2010 World Cup, which was scheduled to take place in May 2004, the defendant, Jack Warner and co-conspirator one travelled to Morocco, as they had done in 1992 in advance of the voting for the 1998 World Cup.
“While in Morocco during the 2004 trip, a representative of the Moroccan bid committee offered to pay $1m to Warner in exchange for his agreement to cast his secret ballot on the Fifa executive committee for Morocco to host the 2010 World Cup.
“Co-conspirator one understood the offer to be in exchange for the agreement of Warner, co-conspirator one and co-conspirator 17 to all vote for South Africa, rather than Morocco, to host the 2010 World Cup. At the time, co-conspirator 17, like Warner and co-conspirator one, was a Fifa executive member.
“Warner indicated that he accepted the offer and told co-conspirator one that he would give $1m portion of the $10m payment to co-conspirator one.”
Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula said he noted statements by the US Department of Justice which alleged that bribes were paid to Fifa officials for South Africa to be selected as the 2010 World Cup host. Mbalula’s spokesperson, Esethu Hasane, said the minister had been made aware of these allegations and would respond today.
Safa Western Cape president Norman Arendse said he would be “gobsmacked” if any South Africans were implicated. He said the organising committee consisted of people with integrity. “I can’t imagine that anyone, including Danny Jordaan, would get involved.”
Former media manager for the 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee SA, Jermaine Craig, said the arrests of senior Fifa officials came as a shock.
“The 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee SA’s focus was on the delivery of the event within budget and on schedule, which was achieved. We had no involvement with Fifa’s internal processes and can’t comment,” Craig said.
Safa spokesperson Dominic Chimhavi dismissed insinuations that the association had offered bribes to win the bid. “We are very disappointed to hear these allegations and we are asking anyone with proof of any wrongdoing in the 2010 World Cup bid to bring that proof forward,” Chimhavi said.
He said iconic figures such as Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu were involved in the bid. “These are people of honour,” he said. He would not comment on Jordaan’s possible involvement, saying to do so would be “presumptuous”.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that European soccer’s governing body Uefa has called for tomorrow’s Fifa presidential election to be postponed. “We strongly believe the Fifa congress should be postponed, with new Fifa presidential elections to be organised within the next six months,” general secretary Gianni Infantino said.
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