In 2013 a very close friend of mine and I took a road trip to the Northern Cape wine corridor.
On the outskirts of the sprawling vineyards, a few kilometres from Upington, I spotted a gravel soccer field. The shaky goal posts of the field, pictured, had a porous net.
The image of that field was lodged in my mind, chipping away at the pleasures of an immature holiday-maker. For a while I pretended I hadn't seen it.
But as the Fifa bribery scandal widens, my mind keeps going back to Upington - and not for fond memories, but the disgust one feels at millions of wasted dollars while youngsters who dream of replacing our lousy national team have no decent soccer field.
The US investigators say more than $200-million (over R3-billion) exchanged hands through bribes and kick-backs in 24 years.
So far 41 individuals and entities have been charged and eight have pleaded guilty. And some have surrendered their loot. US investigators have sent requests for mutual legal assistance to 13 countries.
It's corruption on a grand, global scale.
South Africa is not immune. Page 90 to 95 of the 240-page indictment filed in the US District Court of New York is dedicated to SA.
The indictment suggests that SA officials paid bribes in two batches to secure the rights to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The first was a $10000 wad of cash which Daryan Warner, a member of the family of Jack Warner, Fifa's disgraced former vice-president, fetched at a French hotel.
The other is a $10-million payment drawn from a Fifa fund earmarked for the development of football in SA, which ended up in the pockets of Jack Warner and his friends.
It is alleged that local football officials and the government promised Jack Warner money for football development in the "African Diaspora" under the auspices of the Caribbean Football Union. After the World Cup, $10-million was transferred to an account controlled by Jack Warner.
Jack Warner, a legal resident of the US for years, was to share it with Charles Blazer, an American citizen.
Both Jack Warner and Blazer were leaders of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), which includes the US football.
Since the indictment became public, SA Football Association (Safa) officials appear to have their tails between their legs.
The government, through its talkative Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula, has mounted a conspiratorial response.
At some point the US was blamed for threatening the sovereignty of SA.
Some are blaming racists from the West who want to rob us of a good story after a successful World Cup. It is of course easy to spread conspiracy theories because by their very nature they don't rely on proof.
Believing in them is, on its own, enough.
But the truth has a way of separating itself, like oil from water. The idea that US investigators are targeting SA is totally false.
We occupy a tiny, but not insignificant, portion of this gigantic corruption scheme unpacked in the indictment.
Under the heading "2010 Fifa World Cup Vote Scheme", four-and-a-half pages are dedicated to South Africa.
One of the biggest scandals which resulted in bribery and kickbacks worth millions of dollars implicates US companies.
One such company is Traffic Sports USA, a marketing and commercial rights firm.
It paid bribes to Jack Warner to secure rights for a variety of tournaments held under the auspices of Concacaf.
Aaron Davidson, a US citizen and an executive of Traffic Sports USA, is among those indicted for corruption. The US investigators have primarily targeted individuals whose illicit transactions took place within the US financial system.
The audacity of those involved in the bribery and kickback scam is amazing.
Consider for example the involvement of three successive vice-presidents of Fifa in the scam.
After Jack Warner resigned following the revelations, he was replaced by Jefferey Webb, president of the Cayman Islands Soccer Federation.
Webb financed his campaign for the job through bribes from Traffic USA, which was seeking rights for the matches ahead of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
He is one of the eight who have pleaded guilty and forfeited $6.7-million of his loot.
In 2015, Alfred Hawit, president of Concacaf, became vice-president of Fifa.
No sooner had he taken over the post than he became involved in concealing acts of corruption by creating sham contracts to protect his associates.
Back to SA. We are obliged in terms of international and domestic statutes to assist the US to uncover the corruption that took place.
South Africans must also be told why it is that our soccer officials offered $10-million to assist the "African Diaspora" countries who, in their football governing bodies, include developed countries. It appears as fishy as Swaziland giving donations to the US.
More importantly, shouldn't we assist investigators to help us recover the $10-million?
It would come in handy for the Upington boys and many others like them who desperately need a decent soccer field.
SA must help in Fifa probe
In 2013 a very close friend of mine and I took a road trip to the Northern Cape wine corridor.
On the outskirts of the sprawling vineyards, a few kilometres from Upington, I spotted a gravel soccer field. The shaky goal posts of the field, pictured, had a porous net.
The image of that field was lodged in my mind, chipping away at the pleasures of an immature holiday-maker. For a while I pretended I hadn't seen it.
But as the Fifa bribery scandal widens, my mind keeps going back to Upington - and not for fond memories, but the disgust one feels at millions of wasted dollars while youngsters who dream of replacing our lousy national team have no decent soccer field.
The US investigators say more than $200-million (over R3-billion) exchanged hands through bribes and kick-backs in 24 years.
So far 41 individuals and entities have been charged and eight have pleaded guilty. And some have surrendered their loot. US investigators have sent requests for mutual legal assistance to 13 countries.
It's corruption on a grand, global scale.
South Africa is not immune. Page 90 to 95 of the 240-page indictment filed in the US District Court of New York is dedicated to SA.
The indictment suggests that SA officials paid bribes in two batches to secure the rights to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The first was a $10000 wad of cash which Daryan Warner, a member of the family of Jack Warner, Fifa's disgraced former vice-president, fetched at a French hotel.
The other is a $10-million payment drawn from a Fifa fund earmarked for the development of football in SA, which ended up in the pockets of Jack Warner and his friends.
It is alleged that local football officials and the government promised Jack Warner money for football development in the "African Diaspora" under the auspices of the Caribbean Football Union. After the World Cup, $10-million was transferred to an account controlled by Jack Warner.
Jack Warner, a legal resident of the US for years, was to share it with Charles Blazer, an American citizen.
Both Jack Warner and Blazer were leaders of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), which includes the US football.
Since the indictment became public, SA Football Association (Safa) officials appear to have their tails between their legs.
The government, through its talkative Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula, has mounted a conspiratorial response.
At some point the US was blamed for threatening the sovereignty of SA.
Some are blaming racists from the West who want to rob us of a good story after a successful World Cup. It is of course easy to spread conspiracy theories because by their very nature they don't rely on proof.
Believing in them is, on its own, enough.
But the truth has a way of separating itself, like oil from water. The idea that US investigators are targeting SA is totally false.
We occupy a tiny, but not insignificant, portion of this gigantic corruption scheme unpacked in the indictment.
Under the heading "2010 Fifa World Cup Vote Scheme", four-and-a-half pages are dedicated to South Africa.
One of the biggest scandals which resulted in bribery and kickbacks worth millions of dollars implicates US companies.
One such company is Traffic Sports USA, a marketing and commercial rights firm.
It paid bribes to Jack Warner to secure rights for a variety of tournaments held under the auspices of Concacaf.
Aaron Davidson, a US citizen and an executive of Traffic Sports USA, is among those indicted for corruption. The US investigators have primarily targeted individuals whose illicit transactions took place within the US financial system.
The audacity of those involved in the bribery and kickback scam is amazing.
Consider for example the involvement of three successive vice-presidents of Fifa in the scam.
After Jack Warner resigned following the revelations, he was replaced by Jefferey Webb, president of the Cayman Islands Soccer Federation.
Webb financed his campaign for the job through bribes from Traffic USA, which was seeking rights for the matches ahead of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
He is one of the eight who have pleaded guilty and forfeited $6.7-million of his loot.
In 2015, Alfred Hawit, president of Concacaf, became vice-president of Fifa.
No sooner had he taken over the post than he became involved in concealing acts of corruption by creating sham contracts to protect his associates.
Back to SA. We are obliged in terms of international and domestic statutes to assist the US to uncover the corruption that took place.
South Africans must also be told why it is that our soccer officials offered $10-million to assist the "African Diaspora" countries who, in their football governing bodies, include developed countries. It appears as fishy as Swaziland giving donations to the US.
More importantly, shouldn't we assist investigators to help us recover the $10-million?
It would come in handy for the Upington boys and many others like them who desperately need a decent soccer field.
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