NDB expands to 11 members, raises $16.1bn in 2024, says Rousseff    Egypt, Somalia leaders discuss strategic partnership, counterterrorism in New Alamein    Egypt, UNDP discuss expanded cooperation on medical waste management, human development    CIB finances Giza Pyramids Sound and Light Show redevelopment with EGP 963m loan    EGX closes mixed on July 7th    Gold retreats as investors await tariff clarity    Egypt, UNDP discuss future health projects – Cabinet    Egypt calls for stronger central bank cooperation, local currency use at BRICS summit    Egypt's PM, Uruguay's president discuss Gaza, trade at BRICS summit    Egypt's Talaat Moustafa Group H1 sales jump 59% to EGP 211bn    Egypt, Uruguay eager to expand trade across key sectors    Egypt accelerates coastal protection projects amid rising climate threats    Deadly Israeli airstrikes pound Gaza as Doha talks raise hopes for ceasefire    Egypt, Norway hold informal talks ahead of global plastic treaty negotiations    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger        Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



German football boss again denies World Cup corruption
Published in Ahram Online on 22 - 10 - 2015

Germany's football federation president again strongly denied any vote-buying in the winning bid to host the 2006 World Cup, saying Thursday that ''everything was done with honest means.''
Wolfgang Niersbach said a payment to FIFA first reported by the weekly Der Spiegel last week was privately arranged to secure a FIFA grant to the German World Cup organizers.
The deal was made during a private meeting between FIFA President Sepp Blatter and World Cup organizing committee chief Franz Beckenbauer in January 2002, Niersbach said. The meeting came two years after Germany had been awarded the World Cup by one vote in 2000.
Der Spiegel reported Friday that a slush fund of 10.3 million Swiss francs (about $6 million at that time) was set up to buy the votes of four Asian representatives on the FIFA executive committee.
At a hastily organized news conference Thursday, Niersbach repeated that Germany had done nothing wrong in bidding for the 2006 World Cup.
''The key message is that everything was done with honest means for the 2006 World Cup bid. There were no slush funds, no vote-buying,'' said Niersbach, who had denied the Spiegel allegations already on Monday.
Niersbach said he visited Beckenbauer at his Austrian residence on Tuesday and learned about the deal reached between him and Blatter.
FIFA was ready to finance the organizers to the tune of 250 million Swiss francs (about 230 million euros at current rates) in return for a payment of 10 million Swiss francs, Niersbach said.
Beckenbauer was ready to use his personal funds to secure the grant but was told by his advisers not to do so and the money was finally given to FIFA's financial committee by French businessman Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who was boss of the Adidas sporting goods company at the time, according to Niersbach. Dreyfus died in 2009.
The German World Cup organizing committee paid the money back through FIFA in early 2005, Niersbach said. The sum had been earmarked for an opening gala that had been canceled.
Niersbach said the grant was not part of the World Cup contract between FIFA and Germany and that the organizing committee was still lacking funds at the time.
He said the German federation (DFB) was aware that FIFA had given financial help to the co-hosts of the 2002 World Cup, Japan and South Korea, and wanted the same for the 2006 tournament.
Niersbach could not clarify why a wealthy federation like DFB did not take out a bank credit if it needed funds for the work of the organizing committee.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/161582.aspx


Clic here to read the story from its source.