Football
ESPN staff 9y

Australia has 'bitter grievance' over Jack Warner's dodgy World Cup deals

Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy has penned an open letter to football fans explaining his association's role the in the FIFA corruption scandal that has rocked the sport.

The letter delves into great detail over a AU$500,000 payment made to CONCACAF by Australia's 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid team -- funds that were allegedly misappropriated by disgraced former FIFA vice president Jack Warner.

"On a personal level, since 2 December 2010 when Australia received just one vote in its World Cup bid, I have nursed a bitter grievance," the letter reads.

"We ran a clean bid. I know that others did not, and I have shared what I know with the authorities, including Michael Garcia who undertook a 2-year investigation into the 2022 World Cup bid.

"We gave funds, often in conjunction with Ausaid and the Australian Government, to many countries and football associations.

"The donation which has received most attention was to CONCACAF - the north and central American football association.

"This was to fund a feasibility study to develop its Centre of Excellence in Trinidad & Tobago. The man behind the centre was the President of CONCACAF, Jack Warner, whose reputation as a "colourful character" was well known.

"The centre asked Australia to donate AU$4 million to the project. We compromised and offered AU$500,000 to fund a preliminary feasibility study.

"The Chief Executive of the Centre, not Warner, gave us the bank account details for CONCACAF. We paid the money into that account and received confirmation it was received by the bank. It was paid into a CONCACAF account, not Jack Warner's personal account.

"When CONCACAF contacted us to say they were conducting an inquiry into its accounts, we provided information about our donation.

"That inquiry -- conducted by 2 former judges and a senior accountant -- found that Jack Warner had committed fraud and misappropriated the funds -- in other words he had stolen the money from CONCACAF. It also found other instances of wrongdoing by Warner over many years.

"That initial inquiry by CONCACAF was taken over by FIFA and Michael Garcia, and again Australia provided information to Garcia. We also became aware that law enforcement authorities in the US were looking into the matter.

"We asked CONCACAF to give our money back because it wasn't used for the purpose we intended, and were advised by FIFA to wait until the inquiries were complete. Those inquiries are still ongoing."

Lowy staunchly defended his committee's actions when bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and has urged FIFA to change the culture of corruption that has now overshadowed the sport.

"We ran a clean bid and we are proud of that but it wasn't a level playing field and therefore we didn't win it. I will always be bitterly disappointed about the outcome.

"But since 2 December 2010 Australia has been working behind the scenes to bring about change, and we will continue to do that as FIFA embarks on this new era."

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