The case and its aftermath have highlighted how power works in global sports. It shows how a tainted Gulf royal linked to other cases of corruption has been able to exert significant control over one of soccer’s largest governing bodies even though he has no official role in its affairs. It did not take her long to realize that the power brokers of Asian soccer had already decided the election’s outcome. Emails show the organization responded to her inquiries by insisting it had begun an investigation, though it appears little was done. By this point, Sheikh Ahmad had no official role in soccer, having resigned his own position on the FIFA Council in 2017 after allegations emerged in a United States federal court that he had bribed Asian officials.

Source: International New York Times April 05, 2021 06:00 UTC