Prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice have sent subpoenas in a sweeping investigation to look at corruption in international sports and its governing bodies, including FIFA, the International Olympic Committee and the International Association of Athletics Federations, according to The New York Times. The IAAF, the international governing body for track and field, is under particular scrutiny for awarding the 2019 world championships to Qatar and the 2021 championships to Eugene, Oregon -- the latter without a bidding process.
Rumbles of corruption in international sports are hardly new. FIFA has been scrutinized for years, and within the last few years came under charges for bribery that led to a complete revamping of how the governing body of international soccer looked. Interestingly, only the IAAF responded to a New York Times interview request, giving the vaguely ominous statement: "We stand ready to cooperate, if they do."
Helios Partners, the company helped Russia get both the 2014 Winter Olympics and the upcoming 2018 World Cup, also faces scrutiny. The records that were subpoenaed for the investigation will date back to 2013. In that span, the bid for Oregon was won, and the 2028 Summer Games were won for Los Angeles after a fierce war with Paris that ultimately netted Paris the 2024 Games in a compromise from LA.
According to The New York Times, the probe is being led by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of New York -- based out of Brooklyn. It's the same organization that exposed FIFA's bribery scandal that led to Sepp Blatter's resignation in 2015.
The USOC campaigned for Eugene's bid, which is also of particular interest to the office. The FBI and the IRS have already taken interest in the awarding of the 2021 championships in Eugene, as has France's national financial prosecutor's office.
FIFA, as The Times notes, has tried time and time again to paint itself as a victim in the bribery scandal. It had members charged with racketeering conspiracy and fraud, which is similar to the claims for the necessity of these subpoenas. Qatar is not only hosting the IAAF world championships, it is also hosting the 2022 World Cup, a decision that has been met with furious backlash (especially as reports of the working conditions for those building the stadiums have emerged).
The vagueness of the investigation is very likely intentional, the Times reports, as the Eastern District attempts to uncover any and all wrongdoing by these committees. Bribery is nothing new when it comes to securing international events, but it appears governing bodies have had enough. Between FIFA's 2015 scandal and efforts being made now, the fact that the United States have gotten two international events within a decade of each other and Qatar has gotten two in three years seems to have raised red flags in the legitimacy of the bidding for these competitions.
