South Africa paid $10 million bribe for 2010 World Cup

Ben Bassey 16:18 - 16 March 2016

A FIFA sign is seen outside the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland December 17, 2015. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich

"It is now apparent that multiple members of FIFA’s Executive Committee abused their positions and sold their votes on multiple occasions," it said in a legal document filed to a U.S. court.

Soccer's governing body FIFA said on Wednesday that members of its executive committee had in the past sold their votes in World Cup hosting contests, including for the tournament held in South Africa in 2010.

It said that former executive committee members Chuck Blazer, Jack Warner and other individuals engineered a $10 million payoff in exchange for executive committee votes regarding the hosting of the 2010 World Cup, eventually awarded to South Africa.