By Andrew Warshaw
February 2 – In an unprecedented move that will heap even more hardship and anguish on to both scandal-hit confederations, FIFA has blocked a reported $20 million in funding to CONMEBOL and CONCACAF – just when they are trying to put their respective houses in order.
The two bodies, covering the whole of the Americas, have been at the centre of the ongoing crisis that has engulfed world football and so far seen 41 individuals and sports marketing companies charged in the United States.
“We can confirm that in light of current proceedings involving individuals related to CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, FIFA has put contributions towards these two Confederations on hold until further notice,” said a FIFA statement.
“We are currently assessing further steps to be taken to increase the level of assurance which may again enable FIFA to release such funds in the future.”
The FIFA move will take a huge financial toll on both confederations. Reuters quoted a source close to CONCACAF as saying it had not received $10 million in payments, including funds from FIFA’s Financial Assistance Programme.
CONCACAF has seen its last three presidents indicted by the Department of Justice with Jack Warner, FIFA’s former senior vice-president now banned for life, Jeffrey Webb – not so long ago touted as the saviour of world football’s governing body – and Alfredo Hawit all facing charges.
Last week, in an effort to clean up its act, the confederation, currently operating without a president, unveiled details of reform measures due to be voted in at its Extraordinary Congress in Zurich one day before the FIFA presidential election.
“CONCACAF has fulfilled all of FIFA’s requests for documents and information regarding the new administrative, compliance, and procurement processes that have been implemented at the Confederation to ensure the issue is resolved in a timely manner,” said an email sent to Bloomberg News .
CONMEBOL, plagued by bribery and corruption more than any other region, has lost virtually an entire generation of federation leaders but is also striving desperately to turn over a new leaf amid the ongoing US investigation. Last week Alejandro Dominguez of Paraguay was elected unopposed as president and stressed the importance of recovering the region’s credibility “in a time of crisis.”
“Fair play, fair play, on and off the field will be the flag ship of this new stage we begin today with the support of all the South American leadership,” he said.
It is unclear to what extent the FIFA move could hit this coming summer’s Copa America tournament in the United States which CONMEBOL and CONCACAF are jointly staging.
And there is another twist. CONMEBOL has just endorsed Gianni Infantino’s bid to become FIFA president but the decision to cut off funding hardly enhances the confederation’s reputation. Nor does it tally with Infantino’s intention to massively increase development funding to all six confederations if he wins on February 26.
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