The awarding of hosting rights for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is one of several “schemes” being investigated by the United States Department of Justice.

“Most of the schemes alleged in the indictment relate to the solicitation and receipt of bribes and kickbacks by soccer officials from sports marketing executives in connection with the commercialization of the media and marketing rights associated with various soccer matches and tournaments‚ including FIFA World Cup qualifiers in the CONCACAF region‚ the CONCACAF Gold Cup‚ the CONCACAF Champions League‚ the jointly organized CONMEBOL/CONCACAF Copa América Centenario‚ the CONMEBOL Copa América‚ the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil‚ which is organized by the Brazilian national soccer federation (CBF)‚” reads part of a statement from the US Justice Department.

“Other alleged schemes relate to the payment and receipt of bribes and kickbacks in connection with the sponsorship of CBF by a major US sportswear company‚ the selection of the host country for the 2010 World Cup and the 2011 FIFA presidential election.”

Soccer’s powerful‚ polarising governing body found itself on the defensive on two fronts on Wednesday‚ one a Swiss investigation into World Cup bidding and the other a sweeping‚ stinging US indictment homing in on what America’s top justice official called “corruption that is rampant‚ systemic and deep-rooted“.

Swiss authorities raided FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich on the same day they announced an investigation into the last two awarded World Cup bids — to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 — both of which had come under fire.

Nine FIFA Officials and Five Corporate Executives Indicted for Racketeering Conspiracy and Corruption.

After a day of arrests that tore into the heart of international soccer’s highest governing body‚ the question now is who is the high-ranking South African bid committee official the FBI names only as co-conspirator #15‚ the newspaper reported.

Its indictment states that the man or woman handed over a briefcase filled with US currency in $10000 stacks to a high-ranking Fifa official in a Paris hotel room.

That official was Jack Warner‚ the disgraced former Fifa vice-president and executive committee member and the president of Concacaf who resigned from all football positions in June 2011 after Fifa’s ethics committee opened proceedings concerning at least three corruption and bribery charges.