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