FIFA CORRUPTION SCANDAL: Bribery Allegedly Won 2010 World Cup for South Africa

The FIFA corruption scandal rocking the football world has cast a shadow over the historic decision to stage the 2010 World Cup in Africa.

Announcing racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering charges against nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said of the lead-up to choosing South Africa as the 2010 host that "even for this historic event, FIFA executives and others corrupted the process by using bribes to influence the hosting decision."

While Lynch gave no details, the New York Times reported that the indictment unsealed by New York prosecutors listed "a South Africa World Cup bid committee official" as one of 25 unnamed co-conspirators in the case.