Second Sudan ethics complaint emerges, made 3 months prior to Infantino’s pre-CAF Congress visit

By Paul Nicholson

March 17 – More details are emerging of alleged financial corruption at the Sudan FA by president Dr. Kamal Shadad (pictured), as well as evidence of a complaint made to FIFA’s Ethics department back in October 2020, three months before FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited the country and reportedly instructed Shadad to support new CAF president Patrice Motsepe ahead of the African confederation’s electoral congress.

In new information received by Insideworldfootball, Shadad gave his wife, Mrs Ibtisam Hasab Elrasoul, $20,000 from the CAF annual grant to his association, and has provided her with a car paid for by the Sudan FA for 10 years.

Further allegations of financial discrepancies are of a $10,000 payment made to Shadad’s advisor Mazin Abusin, apparently intended for former national team coach Zdravko Logarušić, as well as the alleged theft of money by the SFA’s executive that was meant to pay for the accommodation of the Sao Tome and Principe national team (the bill was paid by the government).

Shadad is also accused of taking a double payment on expenses, receiving two sets of expenses for 9 trips made on FIFA and CAF business including trips to Moscow, Paris, Cairo, and Casablanca.

Shadad also used allegedly used $39,000 of a FIFA Development project support grant to buy a new car for his association but which has been at his own exclusive use.

Yesterday details were released of a complaint to FIFA Ethics against Shadad, saying that he had “illegally hampered the constitution of both the Ethics Committee and the Audit & Compliance Committee”. Shadad is accused of having deliberately refused to constitute – for more than three years – these committees that FIFA statutes demand of federations as a cornerstone of their governance.

See: Africa’s new regime of Motsepe-CAF-FIFA immediately tested with Sudan ethics complaint

It now appears that FIFA has been covering up Shadad’s alleged ethics breaches as Insideworldfootball has seen copy of another complaint filed by SFA board member Moataz Mohammed Latif to FIFA on 4 October 2020 detailing a series of SFA constitutional breaches by Shadad including:

– appointing coaches and administrative staff to the national teams by passing the text of Article (38) of the articles of association, which gives this authority to the board of directors only.

– “intentionally violated the articles of association, by invading the powers of the secretary general, approving him and disposing of the funds of the Sudan Football Association without legitimate justification and bypassing his powers and powers granted to him in accordance with the articles of association in Article (41) of the Basic Law”

– nominating the SFA members of the CAF committees and the Arab Union without referring to the SFA Board of Directors as well as sending letters to CAF cancelling appointments made by a decision of the SFA Board of Directors

– appointing temporary committees for the Sudan Football Association without referring to the board of directors

The ethics complaint filed against Shadad last year was clearly not enough to prevent Infantino’s pre-CAF Congress visit in February to Sudan as part of his African tour.

In Sudan he met with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, and made various promises to invest in the country. He also met with Shadad and asked for the support of Motsepe, according to local reports.

Infantino promised “that FIFA will work closely with the whole football community in Sudan, with women and men, to continue to develop football and to bring Sudan back where it deserves to be, at the top of African football.”

The question is whether FIFA will fulfil on Infantino’s promises with Shadad dutifully kept in place, or whether Shadad will face an investigation and possible suspension. FIFA rarely comments on ethics investigations and Ethics decisions during Infantino’s FIFA leadership have too frequently become political tools for the organisation’s executive. Shadad is innocent until proven guilty but perhaps more to the point in FIFA’s Ethics world is whether he has now served his use within FIFA’s African politics and any protection afforded him is lifted.

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