South Africa’s former President Thabo Mbeki, who was the president when South Africa won the bid in 2004, becoming the first African country to host the World Cup. Has joined government officials in denying allegations that the country paid bribes to secure the right to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
“I am not aware of anybody who solicited a bribe from the government for the purpose of our country being awarded the right to host the World Cup,” he said in statement, adding “no public money was ever used to pay a bribe.” He stated that his government would “never have paid any bribe even if it were solicited.” This week a damning indictment by US authorities alleged bundles of cash in a briefcase were handed over at a Paris hotel as a bribe by a “high-ranking South African bid committee official“.
The indictment revealed that the South Africa government agreed that $10 million that was due to be paid to South Africa to run the World Cup was instead transferred from FIFA’s funds to pay bribes to former FIFA vice president Jack Warner.