Safa has broken its silence on claims $10m was paid to secure the 2010 WC, denying any wrongdoing.
|||Cape Town – The South African Football Association (Safa) has broken its silence on the allegations that a $10 million bribe was paid to Fifa to secure the hosting of the 2010 World Cup and insisted no crime was committed.
The allegations were a false narrative aimed at tarnishing the image of the country, the body said in a statement released late on Saturday,
“The association is alarmed by the narrative that has developed around its strong support for the S government’s inclusion of the African Diaspora in the World Cup legacy projects, specifically in the Caribbean.”
Safa said money given to Caribbean football association Concacaf was part of a well-publicised African Diaspora programme that formed part of the government’s African Renaissance initiative – the brainchild of then president Thabo Mbeki.
“We find it quite surprising therefore that the dominant narrative describes the very popular African Renaissance programme’s African Diaspora support project as a bribe – almost four years after the actual vote to grant South Africa these hosting rights.
“We categorically deny that this was a bribe in return for a vote. It belittles the hard work done by Madiba, Archbishop Tutu, the South African government and numerous others who sacrificed their time and money and family lives to make our country proud! It tarnishes their images in the most unscrupulous manner.”
Safa said the narrative that has emerged in the wake of the arrest of top Fifa officials wrongly implies that support projects related to the 2010 Fifa World Cup were not reported at the time, and that government leaders and officials are now trying to outline these only in a bid to explain away wrongdoing.
It went on to cite remarks by Mbeki asserting that South Africa sought to host the World Cup as part of his administration’s initiatives to promote the continent.
“This is not a dream. It is a practical policy… the successful hosting of the Fifa World Cup in Africa will provide a powerful, irresistible momentum to the African renaissance,” it quoted Mbeki as saying in the run-up to the country being awarded the tournament.
It added that Fifa wrote to the government on “19 September 2007 outlining its wish that the South African Bid and the 2010 Fifa World Cup Programme should leave a lasting legacy for football and society.
“In this letter, Fifa informed the Department of Foreign Affairs of the establishment of the ‘Win in Africa with Africa’ programme and that Fifa had allocated $70 million for the programme.
“Fifa also confirmed in the same letter the South African government’s commitment of $10 million for the African Diaspora legacy programme, specifically for the Caribbean countries. Fifa also agreed to administer the fund through the Fifa account.”
It again quoted Mbeki as writing in 2010 that six years earlier he had pledged that the bid would help millions of Africans on the continent and members of the African diaspora to put behind them a history of conflict and oppression and its legacy of endemic poverty.
“South African foreign policy at the time consciously reached out to the African Diaspora to incorporate them into the African Renaissance that led to the bid to host the Fifa World Cup on African soil,” Safa added.
It said that Fifa members who voted for South Africa in 2004, said afterwards that they were swayed by the strength of the country’s bid and appeals by former president Nelson Mandela.
Safa said it noted that the indictment of Fifa officials by US authorities referred to payments made to Concacaf as a direct result of South Africa transferring funds to Fifa as a bribe.
“The indictment notes payments made on 2 January 2008, 31 January 2008 and on 7 March 2008 to the Caribbean Football Union and Concacaf by Fifa.
“To our knowledge, the South African government did not make any payment from government coffers for this project as it was subsequently decided, in a letter written by (Safa president) Dr Danny Jordaan on 10 December 2007 to Fifa, that the money should rather be taken from the LOC (local organising committee) budget and then sent directly to Concacaf.”
Safa said it was impossible that funds earmarked for government were diverted by Fifa by agreement because all revenue flows “pertaining to the Fifa World Cup are signed between the football association and Fifa.
“Therefore no government funds were spent on managing the 2010 Fifa World Cup beyond the lasting legacy infrastructure that the country’s citizens continue to use to this day.” – ANA
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