´Secret millions´ grease Australia W.Cup bid

Australian football officials agreed secret, multi-million dollar lobbyist fees and gifted jewellery and free travel in a bid to win hosting rights for an upcoming World Cup, a report said Wednesday.

An exclusive report by Fairfax newspapers cited private Football Federation Australia files that it said detailed 11.37 million dollars (9.68 million US) in payments to two consultants — a quarter of the total bid budget.

It also listed gifts of pearl necklaces for the wives of FIFA executive committee members, who will decide in December which countries will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The FFA also handed out pearl cufflinks, offered a free trip to Australia to a committee member for his birthday, and paid for a football team linked to FIFA vice president Jack Warner to visit Cyprus last year, the report said.

It added that the huge payments to the consultants, who have boasted of close ties to Warner, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and the influential Franz Beckenbauer, were seen in a separate file not intended for government scrutiny.

Sports Minister Kate Ellis promised to investigate the allegations.

“Obviously the way the FFA spends government money is subject to the usual reporting and scrutiny requirements,” she said through a spokeswoman.

“Any evidence to the contrary will be thoroughly investigated by the government, as would any alleged breach of the funding agreement.”

Australia has firmed as a leading contender to host the 2022 World Cup after pulling out of the running for 2018. It initially filed a bid to host either edition.

The documents, dated mid-2009, also suggest the government was not given details of plans to give 6.5 million Australian dollars in grants to football bodies in Africa, Asia and Oceania, the report said.

The FFA strongly defended its conduct of the bid, stressing it was “common practice” to hand “symbolic gifts” to visiting delegations.

“The FFA is completely transparent in its dealings with government and has provided all information regarding the bidding process requested by government,” chief executive Ben Buckley told Fairfax.

The report added that one of the consultants had been implicated in a scheme to allegedly offer financial inducements to FIFA members to back Germany’s hosting of the 2006 World Cup.

The other was allegedly linked to a securities fraud in Hungary, it said.