FIFA has blocked $20M in funding to the organizations that oversee football in the Americas, "dealing yet another blow to the confederations at the center of a sprawling U.S. corruption case," according to Tariq Panja of BLOOMBERG. In a statement, FIFA said, "In light of current proceedings involving individuals related to CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, FIFA has put contributions towards these two confederations on hold until further notice. We are currently assessing further steps to be taken to increase the level of assurance which may again enable FIFA to release such funds in the future." A U.S. Department of Justice probe into decades of corruption in global football "has led to charges against 39 people for crimes including racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud." Most of them are "officials or sports marketing executives" connected to CONMEBOL. The scandal "has taken a financial toll." In a letter to members on Jan. 5, CONCACAF said that it had not received $10M "in FIFA funds and was trying to straighten out the group's finances." In a letter, CONCACAF said, "The confederation was operating with approximately $2 million in available cash -- an extremely precarious situation." Details of CONMEBOL's finances "are less clear." Following his election last week, CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez "announced plans for an immediate audit of the organization's account, something his predecessor Juan Angel Napout also committed to before his arrest in December." Dominguez said, "I agree we cannot be in a worse situation" (BLOOMBERG, 2/1).
