FIFA Bans Webb For Life

FIFA has banned Jeffrey Webb for life and opened a corruption investigation into the salaries and bonuses scheme run by Sepp Blatter and two ex-officials.

Jeffery Webb

The adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee banned the former CONCACAF chief and FIFA vice-president following an investigation opened in May 2015.

It found him guilty of bribery and corruption along with several ethics breaches including duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting and conflicts of interest.

Webb was arrested on the eve of the FIFA Congress in May 2015 as part of a wide-ranging investigation into a decades-long corruption and bribery scandal that brought world football’s governing body to its lowest ebb. In November, Webb pleaded guilty at the U.S. District Court in New York to one count of racketeering conspiracy, three counts of wire fraud conspiracy and three counts of money laundering conspiracy.

Disgraced former FIFA president Blatter faces further punishment after being handed a six-year ban from football earlier this year over the “disloyal” $2m payment to Michel Platini he approved.

After appealing a six-year ban for the “disloyal” payment in August, Blatter is now under investigation for a scheme involving former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke and FIFA’s ex-finance chief Markus Kattner that enriched the trio to the tune of $80 million over five years.

They face sanctions relating to bribery and corruption, conflicts of interest, offering and accepting gifts and other benefits and breaching rules of conduct among other ethics violations.

In June, an internal investigation by FIFA attorneys provided evidence of a “coordinated effort” enrich themselves through annual salary increases, World Cup bonuses and other incentives. Swiss authorities raided FIFA headquarters in Zurich and turned over the salary contracts of the former officials to investigators.

Blatter, Valcke and Kattner worked in tandem to amend their contracts on a regular basis, extending the length of the contracts, providing each other with substantial bonuses and safeguarding their salaries from termination. They approved and signed the changes to their contracts prior to the creation of FIFA’s compensation sub-committee in 2013.

 

Source : Worldfootballinsider

FIFA Bans Webb For Life

FIFA Appoints First Female African General Secretary

The FIFA Council today appointed Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura of Senegal as FIFA Secretary General (SG).

Ms Samoura is a 21-year veteran of United Nations programmes who is currently the UN’s Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria.

The announcement was made by FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the 66th FIFA Congress in Mexico City.

“Fatma is a woman with international experience and vision who has worked on some of the most challenging issues of our time,” President Infantino said.

“She has a proven ability to build and lead teams, and improve the way organisations perform.

Importantly for FIFA, she also understands that transparency and accountability are at the heart of any well-run and responsible organisation.”

As required under FIFA statutes, Ms Samoura will undergo an eligibility check administered by the independent Review Committee, per Article 37 of the FIFA Statutes.

Ms Samoura will assume the role of FIFA Secretary General before mid-June.

President Infantino praised Ms Samoura’s integrity, and said the Council was particularly impressed with her operational experience, as well as her expertise in governance and working in multi-cultural environments.

He said her expertise will complement the long-standing and deep knowledge of world football within the FIFA leadership team and administration.

“It is essential for FIFA to incorporate fresh perspectives – from outside the traditional pool of football executives – as we continue to restore and rebuild our organisation,”

President Infantino said. “No one exemplifies what we need more than Fatma does, and we are thrilled that she has joined our team.”

Since starting her UN career as a senior logistics officer with the World Food Programme in Rome in 1995, Ms Samoura has served as country representative or director in six countries: Republic of Djibouti, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Madagascar and Nigeria.

She speaks French (her mother tongue), English, Spanish and Italian.

“Today is a wonderful day for me, and I am honoured to take on the role of FIFA’s Secretary General,” Ms Samoura said.

“I believe this role is a perfect fit for my skills and experience – strategic, high impact team building in international settings – which I will use to help grow the game of football all over the world.

“I also look forward to bringing my experience in governance and compliance to bear on the important reform work that is already underway at FIFA.

 

FIFA is taking a fresh approach to its work – and I am eager to play a role in making that approach as effective and lasting as possible.”

 

In her current UN role in Nigeria, Ms Samoura has wide-ranging responsibilities including budgeting, human resources, and procurement, among others.

 

She coordinates the activities of approximately 2,000 staff members, and monitors and evaluates the security, political and socio-economic situation and trends in Africa’s most populous country.

 

Prior to joining the UN, Ms Samoura spent eight years in the private sector, working in the fertiliser trading sector for Senchim, a subsidiary of Industries Chimiques du Senegal.

 

Her areas of responsibility included product export and import programmes, tenders, and the establishment of a national distribution network.

 

Ms Samoura earned her Masters Degree in English and Spanish at the University of Lyon; and a Post-Masters Degree in international relations/international trade from the Institut d’Etudes Supérieures Spécialisées (IECS)- Strasbourg-France.

 

Source : GFA

FIFA Appoints First Female African General Secretary

Webb Facing Lifetime From FIFA

FIFA ethics prosecutors want a life ban imposed on former FIFA vice president Jeffrey Webb, who has pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in the United States.

The judging chamber of the FIFA ethics committee says it opened proceedings against Webb and will consider a verdict.

The ethics committee says it got a final investigation report last week from FIFA prosecutors.

In November, Webb admitted to taking bribes worth millions of dollars linked to commercial rights for international soccer tournaments.

The former Cayman Islands banker should be sentenced in federal court in Brooklyn next month. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Webb was president of the CONCACAF soccer body when he was arrested on May 27 at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich.

Source : nbcsports

Webb Facing Lifetime From FIFA

FIFA Threatens To Ban Egypt

FIFA issued an official warning to the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) over government intervention in football affairs.

 

The warning comes in the light of Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court ruling to dissolve the EFA board over election irregularities.

 

FIFA rules prohibit any government intervention, as articles 13 and 17 of the FIFA statutes oblige member associations to manage their affairs independently and with no influence from third parties.

 

According to the letter, the EFA may face suspension in case the court decision was implemented. The EFA had already challenged the ruling and the court has set May 7 as a date for ruling in the case.

 

“The court decision, if implemented, would most likely be considered as an interference in the internal affairs of the EFA and the case would be brought to the highest authorities of FIFA for consideration of sanctions, including the suspension of the EFA,” the letter read.

 

Candidates for the EFA 2012 elections Magda El Helbawi and Hermas Radwan had dragged the EFA board to court over allegations of vote rigging during the elections. The court accepted the lawsuit in March and the verdict obligated minister of youth and sports Khaled Abdel-Aziz to dissolve the EFA board headed by Gamal Allam.

 

Source : Kingfut

 

 

FIFA Threatens To Ban Egypt

Former FIFA Vice President Facing 10 Years Jail Sentence

Alfredo Hawit, a former FIFA vice president from Honduras who also led the North and Central America and Caribbean confederation, CONCACAF, pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, to four conspiracy charges and could face a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.

Hawit is one of 42 individuals and entities charged as part of a US investigation of more than $200 million in bribes and kickbacks sought and received by soccer officials for marketing and broadcast rights to tournaments and matches.

Hawit, 64, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice. He will forfeit $950,000 as part of his plea agreement.

Speaking in Spanish, the defendant admitted in court to having received hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from two sports marketing companies that were seeking media rights for soccer matches.

“I knew it was wrong for me to accept such undisclosed payments,” Hawit said through a translator.

To date, 15 people and two sports marketing companies have pleaded guilty in the US case. Prosecutors in a court filing on March 28 said they were in plea negotiations with multiple defendants.

Hawit was arrested by the US Department of Justice at a Zurich hotel on Dec. 3 along with South American football  who unveiled charges against 16 people for participating in the bribery schemes.

Former FIFA Vice President Facing 10 Years Jail Sentence