South African Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula has "denied his country bribed" FIFA officials in order to secure votes for the 2010 World Cup, according to James Riach of the London GUARDIAN. A payment of $10M made to the Caribbean Football Union in '08 is "central to the recent corruption allegations that have engulfed" FIFA. South Africa was "awarded the 2010 World Cup" in '04 ahead of Morocco, but the U.S. indictment released by its Department of Justice last week "alleged that: 'a high-ranking Fifa official caused payments … totalling $10M -- to be wired from a Fifa account in Switzerland to a Bank of America correspondent account in New York … controlled by Jack Warner.'" Mbalula told a press conference in Johannesburg, "The South African government and local organizing committee has not paid any bribe to anyone to secure the rights to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We will approach the United States authorities through the diplomatic channels to share with us the indictment and any information that they have to enable us to study the facts carefully and to take appropriate action. ... The fact that a payment of $10M was made to an approved program above board, does not equate to bribery." FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke this week "denied responsibility" for the $10M payment. However, a letter emerged from the South African FA in '08 that was "addressed specifically to Valcke and contained detailed information about how the payment should be processed" (GUARDIAN, 6/3). In London, Andrew England wrote Mbalula "insisted the money was paid as part of its legacy programme to help develop football in African diasporas." He said that the funds were to be "utilised for the Dr João Havelange Centre of Excellence, a football academy in Trinidad and Tobago." Mbalula said that the government had previously "made public its plans for the diaspora legacy programme, but he said the media had not picked up on it." Officials also "acknowledged they did not monitor how the money was spent." South African Sports Ministry Dir General Alec Moemi said the that money "was given unconditionally." Moemi: "It was for that reason that we never even sought to say to any one of the people that account to us, report to us" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 6/3).
