Sources and an internal audit revealed that nearly $1M in funds from FIFA "may have gone missing" from Guatemala's football federation last year, according to Sofia Menchu of REUTERS. According to a document signed by the federation's accountant, in '15, the Guatemalan football federation (FEDEFUT) received 8.24M quetzals ($1.1M) in nine deposits from FIFA from February to October. The FEDEFUT budget presented early last year totaled about $1.5M but only included about $250,000 in FIFA funding "while the remaining funds from the nine deposits were not included." The internal audit "was conducted by a FIFA committee put in charge" of running the Guatemalan football federation following the arrest on corruption charges last month of top local officials. The membership of FEDEFUT's general assembly "was also not informed of the nine deposits." A source said,
"That information was hidden" (REUTERS, 1/30).
APPEAL HEARINGS: REUTERS' Brian Homewood wrote FIFA President Sepp Blatter's advisor, Thomas Renggli, said that he "will return to the headquarters" of football's governing body on Feb. 16 when his appeal against his ban from the sport will be heard. Blatter, head of FIFA since '98, "was banned in December from all football-related activity for eight years." Renggli: "Mr. Blatter will attend an appeal hearing on Feb. 16, at the home of FIFA, and we expect the decision as soon as possible" (REUTERS, 1/29). The AFP reported a source close to suspended UEFA President Michel Platini said that his appeal against his eight-year ban from football "will be heard by FIFA judges" on Feb. 15. The 60-year-old Frenchman "was banned for eight years" on Dec. 21 over a 2M Swiss franc payment that FIFA leader Blatter authorized for Platini. Blatter "was also banned for eight years" (AFP, 1/29).
SPENDING ISSUES: GULF NEWS reported FIFA presidential candidate Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa "warned on Friday that world football’s besieged ruling body could be bankrupt in two years under proposals put forward by his election rivals."
With FIFA having already reported a $100M loss, Sheikh Salman "is adamant that the Swiss coffers could be empty by 2018 if any one of his rivals makes good on their spending plans" if elected to succeed Blatter on Feb. 26.
He said, "FIFA’s financial status has very substantially declined over the last year alone: we are faced with a deficit of presently unknown proportions if we don’t turn this ship around. ... Fact is that we are looking at a massive loss: the new proposals by some candidates would increase expenses by over $1 billion over four years; add to that accrued annual losses in the tens of millions, which translate into hundreds of millions over a four-year period" (GULF NEWS, 1/30).
HEATED EXCHANGE: French FIFA presidential candidate Jérôme Champagne and French Football Federation President Noël Le Graët "had a heated exchange in public on Thursday," with Le Graët "hurling insults at Champagne before storming out of a restaurant."
Champagne, one of five men bidding to become the next FIFA president, "confirmed the details of the row."
He said that he was meeting Le Graët "to gain his vote in next month's FIFA election in Zurich."
Instead of backing his compatriot, the FFF president said that "he was supporting" Swiss UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino in the race to lead FIFA (REUTERS, 1/29).
SEXWALE COULD LOSE SUPPORT: The AFP reported Africa's FIFA presidential contender Tokyo Sexwale said Sunday he would not "run away" after South African newspaper reports claimed he may be asked to pull out. Two newspapers said that Sexwale "risked losing the continent's backing" ahead of a meeting on Friday of the 53-member Confederation of African Football in Kigali to decide which candidate to support.
Sexwale and his office "were not immediately available for comment." But an unnamed exec committee member of the South African FA was quoted by the local Sunday Times weekly saying that "we have been told that he is not taking the African continent seriously." The official said, "And just about everybody on the continent says he must withdraw from the presidential race" (AFP, 1/31).
