Cape Town - Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe says South Africa obtained “a clean audit report” on its 2010 Fifa World Cup by a reputable auditing firm after the event was hosted.
“As far as we are concerned... there was a clean audit report. There was nothing to support that anything untoward happened,” said Radebe, who was one of the local organising committee (LOC) of the event Fifa president Sepp Blatter had described the best ever.
Radebe added profits of the World Cup were handed over the the South African Football Association (SAFA), which led to the construction of its new head office in Soweto.
Speaking at a media briefing on this week’s cabinet meetings, the minister said the matter was not discussed at the cabinet, but “as a country we will ensure we are collaborating (with the investigation)”.
Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula would issue a statement on this matter, Radebe added.
South Africa’s 2010 Fifa World Cup, the first time the event was hosted in Africa, has come under the spotlight after US Attorney-General Loretta Lynch announced their investigation, alleging $10 million in bribes were accepted by corrupt Fifa officials.
The US investigation said some bribes were handed over in a briefcase stuffed with $10 000 bundles of cash.
On Wednesday seven Fifa officials were arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, where they had gathered for the organisation’s meeting and presidential elections, as were two former soccer executives and four sports marketing officials.
A second criminal investigation is underway by Swiss prosecutors into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids, respectively hosted by Russia and Qatar.
Political Bureau