FIFA Statement on the South African Diaspora Legacy Programme
2 Jun 2015
Following claims made by the US authorities in relation to a USD 10m payment made by FIFA on behalf of the South African Football Association FIFA comments as follows:
In 2007, as part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, the South African Government approved a USD 10m project to support the African diaspora in Caribbean countries as part of the World Cup legacy.
At the request of the South African Government, and in agreement with the South African Football Association (SAFA), FIFA was asked to process the project’s funding by withholding USD 10m from the Local Organising Committee’s (LOC) operational budget and using that to finance the Diaspora Legacy Programme.
SAFA instructed FIFA that the Diaspora Legacy Programme should be administered and implemented directly by the President of CONCACAF who at that time was Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee and who should act as the fiduciary of the Diaspora Legacy Programme Fund of USD 10m.