Football Federation Australia has denied any wrongdoing amid allegations its FIFA 2022 World Cup bid team paid discredited former FIFA vice president Jack Warner almost half a million dollars in the belief it would secure his vote.

An Australian whistleblower alleges that while Australia paid $462,200 into an account controlled by Warner in 2010 to upgrade the Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, Trinidad, it was always intended to influence his vote.

An official report into integrity in Caribbean football last year concluded Warner “misappropriated these funds”.
Warner, who was at the time president of CONCACAF, the governing body for north and central American football, resigned from FIFA in 2011 amid
allegations of corruption.

FFA said it denied the payment in question was made to influence voting.

“Australia, like all nations bidding for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, was required by FIFA to establish football development programs in other nations where football facilities and funding were lacking,” a spokesman said in a statement.

“Under FFA’s International Football Development program, a grant was made to fund preliminary design and feasibility work on a CONCACAF Centre of Excellence in Trinidad.

“The funds were paid to a CONCACAF bank account in 2010 and the program was documented in FFA’s World Cup Bid reports, which were in turn subject to Australian government oversight.

“Subsequently, FFA was informed in early 2013 by CONCACAF of allegations that the funds had been misappropriated. FFA assisted CONCACAF in its inquiry into the matter.

“It’s regrettable that the funds provided to CONCACAF were not used in the way in which they were intended.”

Michael Garcia, FIFA’s head of ethics who is heading the corruption investigation will be in Australia in the next few days to meet with people who worked on
Australia’s bid.

Australia spent $45 million on its bid and received just one vote by FIFA. It was eliminated in the first round of bidding for the 2022 World Cup, won by Qatar.

Source: AAP.