Germany "is pressing ahead with its bid to host the 2024 European Championship," insisting Wednesday that its football leadership should be trusted because it is not linked to mounting allegations of wrongdoing against the 2006 World Cup campaign.
Swiss federal prosecutors "have opened criminal proceedings against Franz Beckenbauer and the three other German members of the 2006 organizing committee." German FA (DFB) President Reinhard Grindel said Wednesday that the '06 bid investigation is ''no problem because we said that we would make our bid transparent'' with unspecified good governance processes. Grindel: ''We have new leadership in the DFB and so all FAs trust us" (AP, 9/14).
The Guatemalan Football Federation (FEDEFUT) will be suspended by FIFA "amid a row over political interference." FIFA said that "local authorities had intervened to undermine a committee appointed to run the game there following a serious corruption scandal." The national team and all the country's clubs "will be excluded from all international competitions" (BBC, 9/15).
