Original subtitles

- [Reporter] International football, top FIFA officials

were arrested at dawn at a Zurich hotel in Switzerland.

(speaking foreign language)

- [Narrator] May 27th, 2015,

the FBI throws out a wide dragnet.

Police burst into this Zurich hotel.

- [Reporter] Six high-ranking FIFA officials

have been arrested in Switzerland

as part of a massive corruption probe.

- [Narrator] On the eve of the 65th

FIFA congress in September,

seven heads of the organization

are arrested in Switzerland.

- [Reporter] Could face extradition to the U.S.

- With the FBI, you never know what they're gonna do

and then one day everybody goes to jail, right.

That's the way it works.

- [Narrator] It's a staggering blow

to the extremely closed circle of professional football.

For the first time, FIFA leaders find themselves

behind bars on corruption charges.

- These individuals, through these organizations,

engaged in bribery to decide who would televise games,

where the games would be held,

and who would run the organization

overseeing organized soccer worldwide.

- [Narrator] FIFA is a sprawling multinational

worth billions in revenues.

But some of its high-ranking executives have pocketed

a great deal of money in bribes and kickbacks.

- Right from the beginning I could smell FIFA was corrupt.

- [Narrator] Some FIFA officials in particular

have exchanged their influence

for lucrative marketing contracts

or the selection of who hosts World Cups.

- [Translator] Those sums went into the pockets

of sport officials and that was proved.

I'm not being informed simply of accusations.

- [Narrator] For over 40 years,

FIFA leaders have carried on with absolute impunity.

In Europe, the legal system closes it eyes.

- Switzerland had years and so many scandals

that they could have investigated,

years and years of scandals.

But FIFA's very powerful in Switzerland.

- The winner is Qatar.

- We've seen people around the world were

getting more and more angry

and more and more concerned about

the way FIFA was being run.

- [Narrator] At the heart of the global

FIFA scandal is Sepp Blatter,

its iconic president for the past 17 years.

- [Man] You cannot fight mafia.

- [Translator] I'm certain that Blatter

is the brains behind all of the corruption.

- [Commentator] Moore takes the kick

and Geoff Hurst puts England level.

- [Translator] In 1984, no one really knew about FIFA,

not even in Switzerland.

In the eyes of the public it didn't exist.

It was simply unheard of.

- [Narrator] Will the FIFA executives bring

the whole organization down with themselves?

- [Reporter] Can you say what's going

to happen to FIFA today?

- [Narrator] Can this organization

become virtuous once again

and restore the ideals of its founders?

To date this has not happened.

- [Commentator] Goal!

- [Narrator] And yet everything started so well.

112 years ago, on May 21st, 1904,

the International Federation

of Football Association was born,

in an interior courtyard of 229 Rue Saint Honore in Paris.

- [Translator] It was very small.

If you look at what the international federation was

it was ridiculous, it was in a small apartment.

They had only one secretary, that's all.

- [Narrator] Back then,

football didn't generate much revenue.

FIFA was a nonprofit organization.

- [Translator] FIFA's first officials were instilled

with a sense of international cooperation,

meaning the idea of international meetings

and congresses with associations

in the domains of the arts, culture, and sports

all making contributions

to advancing international peace and progress.

- [Narrator] The Federation sought to go global

but in reality it included only

a handful of European countries.

It was a rather exclusive group.

- [Translator] At first, FIFA's origin was

a sort of small European community.

It included the Netherlands, Belgium,

France, Switzerland, Germany, and Denmark.

- [Narrator] In 1921, a Frenchman becomes FIFA's president.

His name is Jules Rimet

and will make his mark on the history of football.

- [Translator] Jules Rimet was a rather small man.

We nicknamed him the white mouse.

- [Translator] Intelligent, a good talker,

a seducer, a little political.

- [Narrator] Rimet wants to go into politics but he fails.

He then turns to football

and presents FIFA with a great idea,

to create a World Cup.

The problem is that there already

is an international football tournament,

that of the Olympic games,

organized by the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC therefore sees the creation

of a new international competition

in a very unfavorable light.

- [Translator] The International Olympic Committee

did everything it could to keep

the World Cup from being created.

Why?

Because in the preceding years,

the world Olympic soccer championship

had become very important.

It was the only worldwide soccer tournament.

There wasn't yet a World Cup

and they hoped to remain the only ones.

- [Narrator] The IOC rejects the idea

of creating a World Cup

but to compensate for Rimet's disappointment,

it agrees that FIFA can

organize the Olympic football tournament.

This is a turning point for FIFA.

It soon has 28 members and the round ball

is becoming increasingly popular worldwide.

- [Translator] FIFA decided it was satisfied

as the soccer tournament on its own had

generated more money from spectators

than all of the other sports put together.

- [Narrator] In 1930, Jules Rimet cuts ties

with the International Olympic Committee.

He creates the first World Cup in the history of football.

Uruguay had won the last two Olympic tournaments.

It's the best team in the world.

Jules Rimet wants to end the monopoly of European countries.

He proposed that Uruguay should organize the event.

- [Translator] So, Uruguay announced its candidature

to host the first World Cup.

Everyone said amen.

But no one thought about travel.

At the time you took a ship to go to Uruguay.

Travel and the tournament together would

take the Europeans almost two months.

- [Narrator] It's the early 20th century.

South America is at the end of the world.

And FIFA's funds are empty,

it cannot finance anything.

Several delegations forego making the trip.

Only four European teams sail for Montevideo.

The crossing takes three weeks.

The first World Cup sees a victory for Uruguay.

It is a hugely popular event.

The history of FIFA is in the making.

Jules Rimet wants to expand the organization.

In 1932, he makes the decision to locate

the headquarters to Zurich Switzerland.

It is a country at the center of Europe

and well connected by train.

But Switzerland's location in itself

does not sufficiently explain Rimet's very strategic choice.

- [Translator] Why Switzerland?

In the 1930s there are important monetary problems

including devaluation and control of exchanges

and Switzerland has a stable currency

which is obviously essential

for ensuring revenue and payments to FIFA.

- [Narrator] In the 1930s, FIFA's idealistic aims

were at odds with the rise of the fascist regimes.

In 1934, Mussolini uses football

to showcase his fascist regime.

- [Translator] The encounter takes place in front

of a record breaking crowd, 60,000 spectators.

- [Narrator] Four years later,

on the eve of the Second World War,

it's France's turn to host the tournament.

- [Translator] The crowd is anxious

as the Italians dominate.

A pass to the Italian downfield.

- [Narrator] In Paris, on French soil,

in front of the spectators and cameras of the stadium,

the players of the German team display the Nazi salute

to the great despair of FIFA President Jules Rimet.

- [Translator] He saw it unfortunately as a failure.

He told me I had false allusions.

I thought it could help delay or avoid the war,

maybe create negotiations as all the parties were together.

- [Narrator] In the 1950s,

after the Second World War, the world changes.

Colonialism is collapsing and former colonies

become involved in the development of football and FIFA.

- [Translator] In the 1960s and '70s,

the countries that became independent

joined FIFA first before the United Nations.

That shows the importance of

the FIFA hierarchy compared to the UN.

- [Narrator] In the early '60s,

the Brazilians are the best football players in the world.

Their technique is spectacular.

- [Translator] The artists are virtuosos.

The athletes have extraordinary abilities.

- [Narrator] But FIFA is still led by Europeans.

In 1961, it also chooses a new president,

an Englishman named Stanley Rous.

Rous believes primarily in European football.

- [Translator] Stanley Rous was above all

an international referee.

His vision of how football

should develop was very restrictive.

It was quite limited.

- [Translator] For the final rounds of the World Cup,

he thought that Europe and South America

should get the lion's share.

For the World Cup in 1966,

Africa, Asia, and Oceania would compete for one place only.

It was so bad that the Africans

decided to boycott the preliminary rounds

and not participate in this World Cup.

Stanley Rous considered that those

countries must prove themselves

and once they'd progressed,

the doors to the World Cup

would be open to them more widely.

- [Narrator] Stanley Rous had no sense of history.

He will pay for this during

the election of his successor in 1974.

Stanley Rous' challenger hails from the New World.

He is Brazilian.

Throughout South America,

football has become a major public spectacle.

But in Brazil, football is a religion.

And the high priest of this religion

is the head of the Brazilian Football Federation.

Joao Havelange is a businessman well established

in the chemical industry,

insurance, and transport in Brazil.

- [Translator] I'm born in Brazil,

I've seen football since I was born.

We watch football, eat football, talk football.

- [Narrator] Joao Havelange is the first

non-European candidate for FIFA's presidency.

- [Translator] Those European men had a Euro-centric vision.

They even had somewhat racist ideas

in FIFA during those years

so Havelange profited from that.

The strategy was to say that they were against apartheid

and as it existed in South Africa,

they couldn't participate in the World Cup.

This way they gained the support

of several African football associations.

- [Narrator] For FIFA's presidential election,

the system is simple.

One vote per country.

The Brazilians will rely on the resentment

of Africans against Stanley Rous, the outgoing president.

- [Translator] For Africa, Havelange arrived

as the man of providence for their cause,

the man who'd fight Stanley Rous' authority.

And a Brazilian seemed a much more friendly choice

as compared to an Englishman.

Not to mention Africa's love for Brazilian football

and for the Brazilian selection.

- [Narrator] Joao Havelange fights

a very political campaign.

He visits each of the African federations one by one.

To win votes, he is accompanied

by the most famous of his countrymen.

- [Translator] Look at this athlete with his black skin

and immaculate jersey with the number 10.

His name's Pele.

He's the world's best football player.

As we predicted, the skilled artist Pele with this attack

has offered Brazil a close victory

with a score of three to two.

- [Translator] You have to try to imagine the prestige

of Pele's support during that FIFA campaign.

It was a formidable plus.

His presence was decisive on the African front

with the African football federations.

- [Narrator] During this trip to Africa,

Joao Havelange discovered that 14 African federations

had not paid their annual dues to FIFA

for lack of financial means.

14 votes that the Brazilian secretly tips in his favor.

- [Translator] Havelange verified that

the 14 African federations hadn't paid their FIFA dues,

meaning that they didn't have the right to vote.

So, he paid their dues for them with his own money.

He paid from his pocket so those

federations could vote for him.

With this gesture,

he gained the votes of the 14 African countries.

- [Narrator] The Brazilian candidate then

extended his campaign in eastern Europe.

- [Translator] In 1974, Joao went to Moscow

to conquer the votes of the Soviet Union

and the countries behind the Iron Curtain.

I was at his disposal as the only Brazilian

in the embassy who spoke Russian.

- [Translator] We're in Moscow,

city of peace, friendship, and hospitality.

- [Translator] He always tries to make

the Soviet authorities happy

and the families of the Soviet leaders.

He brought aquamarine brooches

for the wives of the Soviet representatives.

But all of this was done with great discretion.

- [Narrator] Havelange negotiates with the Russian Koloskov

who speaks on behalf of all

the federations of the Soviet bloc.

It's quid pro quo.

The two men make a pact.

- [Translator] Minister Koloskov guaranteed to Joao

that he would unite the votes of all of the countries

behind the Iron Curtain and he did it.

On his side, Dr. Havelange promised the Russians

that he'd give his complete support to Moscow's

candidature to host the 1980 Olympics.

- [Narrator] And everyone keeps his word.

To get hold of the reins at FIFA,

Joao Havelange is ready to do anything.

But to the reporters,

he wants to appear a fair player.

- [Translator] I don't think that it's a combat

it's an election that's permitted by FIFA.

I'm happy we can show football's strength

with this election where friendship is first.

I consider Stanley Rous to be a friend.

- [Narrator] For his part,

Stanley Rous is too confident,

convinced of his reelection,

he doesn't even bother to campaign.

On the eve of the vote,

he appears confident and arrogant.

- [Reporter] Would it in fact be such a bad thing then

for football if Brazil did get this post?

- I don't know.

I should be a little apprehensive.

- [Reporter] Why apprehensive?

- Well, in view of the way that I've seen

that their attitude towards football and sport

is so different from ours.

- [Reporter] What's wrong with their attitude?

- I think it's a bit too commercial for one thing.

It's a bit too passionate on the field sometimes.

And also, off the field,

this is where I think the administrators

don't act, wouldn't act as the Europeans act.

- [Reporter] In fact then, you're standing because

you think you can do the job better than the Brazilians?

- I think I can do it as well as.

- [Translator] Stanley Rous thought

of himself as already elected.

I think he was even more certain of this

because he'd allied himself with

the president of Adidas, Horst Dassler,

known as the kingmaker.

- [Narrator] With Adidas, Horst Dassler

sponsors the top national teams.

They need money and equipment.

- [Translator] Horst Dassler was one

of the most powerful men in sports in the world.

He played his cards on every table.

He knew everyone.

He did favors for everybody.

He was in a way the central nervous system of sports.

- [Narrator] When Horst Dassler and Stanley Rous

understand that Havelange has won over the majority

of the non-European federations,

it is already too late.

In 1974, in Frankfurt,

Sunday Times journalist Keith Botsford

covers the FIFA congress where he follows Stanley Rous.

- [Translator] I saw him that very morning at breakfast.

I asked several harmless questions.

I asked him, did you have a good breakfast,

did you eat well?

What do you think's gonna happen?

And he said, that son of a bitch is gonna win.

- [Translator] That morning he already understood?

- [Translator] Yes, he understood.

- [Man] The new president of FIFA is Mr. Havelange.

- [Narrator] The FIFA of Joao Havelange

opens a new page in its history.

Television as a medium was on the verge

of entering almost every home on the planet.

- [Translator] Each day FIFA should light a candle

in honor of the man who invented television

because it's the catalyst for football.

Above all the catalyst for FIFA is definitely TV.

Television delivers football to billions of people.

It's thanks to this medium

that FIFA became extremely rich overnight.

- [Narrator] The new president decides to make

television channels pay to broadcast the matches.

- [Translator] At that moment,

the value of TV rights skyrocketed

and also the diverse ways of making money

with football with the FIFA image, with FIFA's names,

its mascot, advertising, sponsoring.

He's without a doubt responsible for transforming football

into an international billion dollar business.

- [Translator] Right away we realized we'd changed eras,

that football had changed forever,

that from Havelange on it would be something else.

- [Narrator] FIFA globalizes its business.

Television rights become the primary

source of income for the organization.

And to bring in even more money

the new president wanted to attract major sponsors

who are always seeking more visibility.

Joao Havelange wanted to approach what was already

the biggest brand in the world at that time, Coca-Cola.

Patrick Nally led these very strategic negotiations.

- I spent 18 months of my life working with Coca-Cola

to talk to Coca-Cola about how FIFA and football

could be a very unique opportunity for them

in Africa and Asia and other territories.

And of course, Coca-Cola had never heard of FIFA.

This is a predominantly U.S.-based organization

so what was FIFA, who is FIFA?

They didn't know and understand FIFA at all.

So, we had a lot of explanation to do to explain

what this international federation was about.

Coca-Cola back in the early '70s,

all of their publicity and promotion was done local,

at local levels so we created the FIFA Coca-Cola program

as the first example of how the whole Coca-Cola world

could come together and work together

on a single one language one sport.

- [Narrator] From 1976, Coca-Cola becomes

the official sponsor for FIFA.

The contract is worth $6 million,

unheard of in this new marriage between

the worlds of sports and business.

Pepsi Cola, the main competitor of Coca-Cola,

was previously well established in football.

This brand disappears under Coca-Cola's steamroller.

- So, it was the first time that Coca-Cola

had looked at doing something on an international level.

So, we had to change the whole

philosophy of the Coca-Cola company

to get Coca-Cola to commit to that agreement.

- [Narrator] Another brand grows thanks

to big mass media organized by FIFA.

It is Adidas.

Its charismatic head Horst Dassler

supported Stanley Rous in 1974

but Dassler is a pragmatic man.

He pledges allegiance to Joao Havelange

immediately on his arrival as the head of FIFA.

The result, Adidas is everywhere.

The brand's turnover explodes.

- [Translator] For 10 years, there was no contract.

No papers were signed between Havelange and Adolf Dassler.

It all ended with a simple handshake

to decide how much Adidas should pay to FIFA

for exclusive sponsorship rights for the World Cup.

That's why for many years it was almost impossible

to know how much money FIFA was taking in

because it was all based on this trust.

It's a mafia-like system

in the sense that it's all between friends.

We agree on a deal and it's done.

- [Narrator] The troubled relationship between

Havelange and Dassler would worsen over time,

finally mixing together their

business and personal interests.

In 1982, Horst Dassler founded ISL in Switzerland,

a new company completely separate from Adidas.

- Dassler was a very clever man,

who having sold all the boots

in the world and all the strip wanted more.

He realized there was value in sport.

Television wanted it and the price

was going up all the time,

if you could control the sale,

and so he set up the ISL company.

- [Narrator] ISL, led by Horst Dassler,

becomes an intermediary in this new TV rights market.

ISL buys the rights to the FIFA World Cups.

It then resells them

to television stations around the world.

On the way, ISL takes in a comfortable cash commission.

This very lucrative business attracts

the interests of other companies such

as the U.S. company IMG belonging to Eric Drossart.

In 1995, IMG dreams of taking ISL's place.

- [Translator] We proposed two billion Swiss Francs,

one billion Swiss Francs for each World Cup.

In terms of past deals concerning TV rights

this was quite an exceptional offer.

- [Narrator] A billion per World Cup.

It was a record.

But FIFA, working with Dassler and ISL

didn't even respond to this

extremely attractive financial proposal.

In the end, years after ISL's coup,

Drossart finally does succeed in winning the contract.

- [Translator] The president came into

the executive commission's conference room.

He said I have bad news and good news.

I'll start with the bad news.

IMG made a higher offer,

about 10% higher than our friends at ISL.

The good news, I'll tell you right away.

I contacted our friends at ISL.

And they've decided to align

themselves with the higher offer.

So, there it is.

- [Narrator] Rigged bidding, bribes, no transparency.

Joao Havelange ensures that World Cup TV rights

remain ISL's exclusive territory.

The Scottish journalist, Andrew Jennings,

spent 10 years investigating FIFA's dealings.

- IMG didn't pay bribes, they'd pay you the best money

for your television and marketing rights.

Well that isn't what FIFA and Havelange wanted.

Because if you go into the marketplace

and I've got the World Cup here,

what are you prepared to offer?

That marketing company, that one, that one,

that one, make your bids.

They didn't do that.

They stayed with ISL.

They never went to market rates.

ISL would pay the money.

- [Translator] IMG, they never stood a chance in football

because ISL was always sure they'd

obtain their rights through the corruption.

Everyone knew that ISL was privileged

but the corruption then wasn't as visible as it is today.

- [Narrator] To win and retain the market on TV rights,

ISL paid bribes to many FIFA senior officials.

Years later, ISL officials acknowledged

this during a trial in Switzerland.

- [Translator] It's scandalous.

It's proved that in today's money

they paid $150 million to sport officials.

But worst yet,

we don't know who pocketed the $120 extra million.

We still don't know.

- [Narrator] Under the table bribes from ISL

were sent to bank accounts located in tax havens.

Naturally the identity of all recipients remains secret.

Despite these precautions,

some names have come to light

including that of the president of FIFA.

- They made a mistake, they sent a bribe from ISL,

instead to Havelange's private bank account,

they sent it to FIFA.

It's a bank record,

you can't destroy a bank record, it stays there.

They tried to get the bank to throw it away,

no they wouldn't.

- [Narrator] This $1 million payment

was sent to Joao Havelange at FIFA headquarters.

It is the only bribe to have been proven by the law.

But many suspect the former president

of pocketing tens of millions of Euros.

- [Translator] Havelange pocketed huge sums from the ISL.

It's even possible that at the time

Adidas founded ISL just to put people

like Havelange in their pocket.

- [Narrator] After the ISL case,

FIFA decided to no longer delegate

the management of television rights.

(speaking foreign language)

- [Narrator] For 24 years,

Joao Havelange directed FIFA with an iron hand

and ran it single handedly.

But in order to manage daily affairs,

he needed a confidant.

In 1975, he chose a Swiss national, Josef Blatter,

known as Sepp Blatter.

A graduate of the prestigious HEC business school,

Blatter had a short stint with the watchmaker Longines

as public relations director

before being hire by Horst Dassler at Adidas.

- [Translator] At Adidas, he learned to manage payments

and he got an introduction into the sports world.

Later, after a short training,

Sepp Blatter moved to FIFA,

first as technical director then as Secretary General.

- [Narrator] The Havelange Blatter duo worked immediately.

The first decided and the second executed his orders.

Under the leadership of Joao Havelange,

Blatter personally took care

of the worldwide development of football in Africa.

He also created new competitions

like the World Cup for the under 20 year olds.

For years, Blatter mainly worked

on cultivating relationships

with major sponsors like Adidas or Coca-Cola.

Sepp Blatter slowly became the, to Joao Havelange.

And although Blatter owes him everything

he dreams of becoming number one himself.

In 1994, when Havelange decides to run for president again,

Sepp Blatter doesn't hesitate to stab his mentor

in the back to try to take his place.

- [Translator] Sepp Blatter introduced himself to UEFA

saying I don't want to work with the old guy,

Havelange is too old to be president.

- [Narrator] Gerhard Aigner,

former Secretary General of the UEFA,

remembers Sepp Blatter's surreal intervention perfectly.

- [Translator] We asked him directly,

is it true that you're a candidate

against your own president?

And Blatter answered at that meeting,

yes, if the UEFA backs me.

He was asked to leave the meeting

and the UEFA executive committee needed only five minutes

to decide that we would not support Blatter.

- [Narrator] Blatter's betrayal soon

reaches the ears of Joao Havelange.

- When Havelange found out that his boy was a traitor,

was trying to cut him down,

he couldn't sack Blatter 'cause Blatter knew too much.

He was controller of the secrets.

- [Translator] Sepp Blatter knew perfectly well

that Joao Havelange was taking money from ISL.

He knew it was his protection from being fired.

- So, they sacked two other people.

- [Translator] As communication director, I was exposed,

that's part of the job, so they fired me.

To turn the page they needed a scapegoat.

- [Narrator] Joao Havelange and Sepp Blatter would

manage the crisis on their own and seal a deal.

- [Translator] They preferred an agreement as accomplices.

They decided that in 1994 Havelange would be reelected,

Blatter would stay where he was,

and in 1998, Havelange would leave after

having prepared the post for Blatter to step into.

- [Narrator] As agreed, Joao Havelange

is reelected in 1994 as the president of FIFA.

As for Sepp Blatter, he bides his time patiently.

The expected scenario takes place in 1996.

That day, Havelange officially announces his retirement.

He is 80 years old.

- [Translator] My mission as FIFA president

comes to an end at the same time as

the World Cup 1998 in France comes to an end.

I have a clear conscience because

in the 24 years I've served FIFA

and football with my administration

and those who've accompanied me,

we have changed football around the world.

- [Narrator] Sepp Blatter has been

waiting for this moment for a long time.

But in front of the cameras he

plays his role well and feigns surprise.

- I'm sad that he will leave because I cannot

imagine that FIFA will be run without him.

21 years together, this forges not only friendship

but this forges also a union like a wedding

and I first have now to digest this information.

- [Narrator] In 1998, Sepp Blatter's time had finally come.

Yet one man is about to block his path.

The former French football champion Michel Platini,

triple golden ball winner

and 1980s football superstar.

At the time, Platini was co-chairman

of the organizing committee for the World Cup in France.

But his term ended and he was dreaming of directing FIFA.

But Sepp Blatter will dissuade him.

- [Translator] Sepp Blatter who's already three steps ahead,

convinces Platini that he's too young

and basically tells him I'm presenting my candidacy,

you'll be my number two,

my insurance with the athletes.

You'll learn with me and we'll campaign together.

And that's what happened.

Everything okay, Josef?

Players will participate in all decisions around the world

from Mr. Blatter's platform and mine, too.

That's the priority.

- [Narrator] With Michel Platini as

a guarantee among the players and coaches,

Blatter leads his campaign.

And to ensure victory,

he relies like Havelange had done 20 years before

on the vote of the African federations that he knows well.

He promises them money.

Sepp Blatter launches a new development program,

the Goal Program.

- [Translator] The Goal Program is based

on the following principle,

the federations present a project,

maybe the construction of a training center,

or of a federation headquarters,

and these projects will be financed by FIFA.

- [Translator] The Goal Program was a central element

in promising Sepp Blatter would

win his presidential election in 1998.

The Goal Program promised $1 million over four years

to each nation that signed up for it.

- [Narrator] For the 1998 election,

Blatter's opponent is Lennart Johansson,

president of the UEFA.

On the eve of the vote,

neither candidate is sure to win.

So, Blatter buys his election.

He would send close collaborators

to this Paris hotel in the night.

Many of the African delegations

were housed here during the congress.

Gerhard Aigner, close to Lennart Johansson,

is about to go to bed when he receives a strange phone call.

- [Translator] That day we were informed late at night

that something was happening at the Meridien Hotel

and that we should go meet them there.

I went with two or three members of our executive committee

and we met with the Africans.

One of the African representatives was even crying.

He explained to us that at the hotel,

there had occurred an action

to take over the African federations.

- [Translator] Money was paid?

- [Translator] They couldn't say it overtly

but we understood that to be the case.

- [Translator] Mr. Lennart Johansson, 80.

Mr. Josef Blatter, 111.

Ladies and gentlemen, the delegates,

thank you for electing me to the FIFA presidency.

Thank you very much.

- [Narrator] The new president first

thanks Michel Platini for his valuable help.

He then offers him the role of personal advisor.

Platini agrees.

- [Translator] Platini shakes hands with Sepp Blatter

saying how much will you give me?

Blatter responds, how much do you want.

And they shake on one million Swiss Francs a year

for a job whose responsibilities remain obscure.

Platini had a hard time explaining what he was hired to do,

a sort of lobbyist and organizational job

rebuilding the future FIFA's calendar.

- [Narrator] Between 1999 and 2002,

Michel Platini works for FIFA

but he refuses to move to Zurich.

This is what drives his critics

to talk about job complacency.

Michel Platini's close friends firmly defended him.

- [Translator] He tries getting into contact

with all of the federations,

trying to humanize football.

And he works a great deal, I've sene this.

It's not just a story.

I won't cover a story that doesn't exist.

Of course it helps the affairs of some

to say he doesn't do anything, that he plays golf all day.

But that's false, he travels a lot.

- [Narrator] The support of Michel Platini

was decisive in the election of Sepp Blatter.

The latter dons his FIFA presidential hat with gusto.

His predecessor had allowed the organization to thrive

thanks to television broadcasting rights.

Blatter raises the stakes.

FIFA raises the price of its rights by tenfold overnight.

In 2002, during the World Cup in Japan and Korea,

television rights alone bring

in 1.6 billion Swiss Francs to FIFA.

The new president keeps his campaign promise

and distributes FIFA gains among the 209 federations.

- [Translator] For the first time,

direct money transfers to the federations take place.

Before that, there'd never been a direct flow

of money to the national federations.

But it began at that moment.

- [Translator] FIFA became Santa Claus

for the national federations,

offering money, training, trips, privileges.

The FIFA president became the man who could

offer gifts to the 209 federations each day.

- [Narrator] Since 1999, nearly 700 projects have

been approved by the FIFA development committee

such as the construction of a technical center in Tunisia,

a stadium in Estonia,

or a seat for the federation of Bangladesh.

Sepp Blatter distributes millions from FIFA

to the four corners of the planet.

He hopes to gain personal benefit.

He dreams notably of winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Palestine is his favorite playing field.

In 2008, he offers a brand new stadium

to play international matches.

Blatter multiplies meetings with Palestinians and Israelis

to facilitate exchanges between the two peoples.

Is FIFA in a position to solve

such a sensitive political problem?

Ostensibly, the development programs are a great success.

But behind this respectable facade,

the reality is very different.

We're in Cameroon,

one of the biggest football countries in Africa.

Cameroon has participated seven times in the World Cup,

a record on the continent.

Since 2002, FIFA has given a lot of money

to the country's federation, more than $20 million,

officially to develop football in Cameroon.

For example, five years ago,

the Cameroon Football Federation announced

the construction of a new headquarters,

a $6 million project.

- [Translator] Work on the new headquarters

for the Cameroonian Football Federation began in 2012.

Construction was started with great pomp.

They said it would be a futuristic headquarters.

From 2012 up to now, the project has never been completed.

Delivery was slated for 2013.

- [Narrator] FIFA would have sent the money

to the Cameroon Football Federation's accounts.

Along with several colleagues,

Antoine de Padoue slammed the door.

- [Translator] When we left the federation in 2013,

we left about $4.5 million in the account

for the construction of the FECAFOOT project.

There was a plan, everything they needed.

Today nothing's been done.

All the money's been squandered.

- [Narrator] Jean Lambert worked for six months

as Secretary General of the Cameroon Football Federation.

He was fired after having denounced corruption.

- [Translator] The embezzling phenomena

is a major sport for Cameroon's Soccer Federation.

This money coming from FIFA is uncontrolled funds.

FECAFOOT's leaders used this money at their will.

They don't think they have to justify themselves.

Imagine that a person goes on

a mission for an undetermined period.

He goes to a hotel, lives there with his wife,

children, and his whole family.

They eat and drink all they want.

And without any justification for the spending they do.

- [Narrator] But the Cameroon football

officials have a ferocious appetite.

The projects launched by FIFA rarely succeed

and are never completed.

Notably, the organization had planned

to use one million Euros to build an ultra modern

national technical center with several football fields.

Today, it consists of an almost empty shell,

two abandoned buildings,

and one synthetic field.

Even when we look hard,

we can't seem to find the millions FIFA gave to Cameroon.

- [Translator] When you look at FIFA's silence

with regards to all this embezzlement,

you think FECAFOOT and their allies in FIFA

have perpetrated something completely

criminal on Cameroonian football.

It's true that FIFA says they have an audit organization

and that this FIFA audit office follows up

on all the use of all of the funds.

But their audits are false.

You don't have to be an expert accountant.

All you need to do is go look

at the facility with your own eyes

and you'll see that the planned project was never built.

- [Narrator] For the election of FIFA's president,

each of the 209 member states has one vote.

In this game, the African Confederation

weighs in heaviest with 54 votes.

- [Translator] All the projects Blatter

started for football's development were done

with another priority in mind, his reelection.

- [Narrator] Wasting of development programs, fraud,

embezzlement, all this was clearly denounced within FIFA

in 2002 during an incredible press conference.

For the first time, an international report

directly implicates Sepp Blatter, it's a shock.

The accuser, Michel Zen-Ruffinen is none other

than the Secretary General of the organization.

Before an expressionless Sepp Blatter,

he then recommends a cleanup,

something unheard of at FIFA.

- In a confidential report of 30 pages,

I have identified a lot of problems.

There could be corruption within the organization.

I clearly ask now the president to provide

the respective answers to me so that we can

enter the new era of FIFA with a clean record

which at the moment and in my opinion

is definitely not the case.

Thank you.

- [Translator] I denounced a great number

of things in that report.

I ha lots of elements.

At the time already lots of things weren't working

and we could have corrected them.

- [Narrator] Michel Zen-Ruffinen and other senior executives

in the organization request Blatter's resignation.

During the press conference the discomfort is palpable.

- [Sepp] This is not an easy World Cup.

Let us work on that.

- [Translator] I can't leave, I don't want to

because I'm elected up to the next congress.

I don't want to abandon my position before this congress.

The congress will decide who stays as president.

- [Narrator] Sepp Blatter is humiliated.

The one he said he treated like

his own son had betrayed him.

Michel Zen-Ruffinen, a Swiss national,

hailing from the same Canton as Blatter,

is guilty, according to him,

of the worst villainy.

He has disclosed family secrets to the public.

- [Translator] The impression in the world of sports

was always that he was in a separate world

meaning that in his entity,

in his bubble you could say, a sport bubble,

all decisions could be taken completely

independently with no outside interference.

In Blatter's mind, that's his notion of the family.

The idea was no outside control

is possible in FIFA's affairs.

- [Narrator] A month after the release

of the Zen-Ruffinen report,

the FIFA family meets to elect its president.

Thanks to the unwavering support

of the majority of federations,

Sepp Blatter retains power again,

yet it is no longer the father but the son

whose future in the organization is in peril.

- We will see what happens.

- [Reporter] Do you personally have

a future with FIFA if Mr. Blatter wins?

- We will discuss that after the congress, okay.

- [Reporter] How do you expect

the result of the elections to be?

- It's a political question.

I do not answer political questions.

- [Narrator] Unsurprisingly, Sepp Blatter is reelected.

- Thank you so much.

- [Narrator] And without hesitation he

takes measures to protect the family secrets.

Michel Zen-Ruffinen leaves FIFA.

As for the report, it is definitively buried.

- [Translator] In the report,

there were many elements that should have been treated.

If they had been treated

it would have improved the situation.

- [Translator] The term corruption,

you don't want to use it?

- [Translator] No, I don't want to.

- [Translator] Why?

- [Translator] I don't have the right

to speak with that term.

- [Translator] And if you do?

- [Translator] I'd be breaking my confidentiality agreement.

What they asked is that after leaving the organization

I would not speak about elements cited in the report.

I committed myself to that and I'm sticking to it.

- [Translator] You're saying there

was a financial agreement?

- [Translator] It's more of a global agreement

including financial elements.

If your question is, did I take an indemnity to sign it?

The answer is no.

They owed me a portion of my salary, they paid it,

and that's all there is to it.

- [Narrator] There is a code

of silence within FIFA, an omerta.

Internal affairs are resolved secretly,

behind closed doors.

The press has often compared FIFA

to another organization with similar practices.

- Of course the mafia is famous for murders and drugs

and things and that's a little bit different

but from a governance perspective,

from a leadership perspective,

that is the right model.

It is, we'll take care of our own justice internally,

we'll take care of our own community

and we don't need any outside influence.

So, there are some parallels.

- [Narrator] In 2002, after this episode,

several senior FIFA executives were fired

along with Michel Zen-Ruffinen.

The Swiss appeal

but it is never followed up.

The case is closed by the Ministry

of Justice of that country.

- These sports associations are

a big part of the prestige of Switzerland.

I think there's a sense that they are very lucrative.

They bring in, even the nonprofits,

bring in a lot of revenue

because there's tourism and conferences

and FIFA's very powerful in Switzerland.

- These are open secrets about corruption in FIFA

and what's Switzerland doing?

Very little.

I think it's a matter of national pride and reputation.

Switzerland is very proud that it's

the home of so many international organizations.

But when your pride gets in the way of your honesty,

that's a problem.

- [Narrator] FIFA reserves now stand at $1.5 billion.

It's wealth has given the organization

incredible power in Switzerland

but also around the world.

Wherever he goes in the world,

Sepp Blatter is received with great

fanfare by major heads of state who want

to have those World Cup billions for their country.

When awarding a competition,

FIFA imposes its conditions.

- [Translator] When FIFA organizes a World Cup

they insist that funds flow freely,

they insist that visas be given to all participants,

and the free importation of all

their merchandise must be guaranteed,

meaning FIFA must be able to transport

anything it wants without any control.

- [Translator] A national association that wants

to be granted the World Cup must accept

the full exoneration of the World Cup's business

in its territory or risk not being granted the tournament.

That shows the power of sports

and how it takes precedence over the nation's regulations.

- [Translator] No organization besides FIFA

has the means to suspend the judicial

and legal statutes of entire nations.

- [Narrator] With a World Cup,

FIFA creates activity and wealth.

Organizer countries earn great sums.

Not to mention the prestige.

Some countries would therefore

be desperate to reap the benefits.

Even to the point of buying them.

1998 in France, 2006 in Germany,

each time the awards process is questioned.

In 2010, it's South Africa that is selected

to host the tournament, a first for Africa.

Sepp Blatter is delighted.

- South Africa will deliver the best

ever World Cup in the history.

It will not be the same then in Germany

or in Japan and Korea but it will be the best ever

because it will be the African World Cup.

- [Narrator] On the surface,

the allocation was transparent and legal

with Nelson Mandela as moral support.

The image was beautiful, historic.

But behind the scenes,

things were much more opaque.

South Africa had bought the World Cup for $10 million.

It all began in 2004.

That year, there were two big favorites in the running,

Morocco and South Africa.

A FIFA personality then enters the game.

His name Jack Warner.

He is the president of CONCACAF,

the football federation of North America,

South America, and the Caribbean.

- Jack Warner controlled a large bloc vote.

FIFA is nothing more than the leadership

that incentivizes FAs with gimmes

and handouts and political favors.

And because of that,

if you're a person who's able to marshal a lot of votes,

you have a lot of power and that's who Jack Warner was.

- [Narrator] I met with Jack Warner two or three times.

Jack Warner came to Morocco and explained the situation.

He said I've always been very fond of Morocco

and I've never received anything from you.

If Morocco wants my vote now,

you'll have to pay me.

He came here accompanied by his wife on the pretext

of an official visit about the tournament

and he wanted a sign from Morocco.

He said, I want to know who my friends are.

I'm in a position where I must take care of my friends

and I want to know if Morocco is my friend.

- [Narrator] Morocco is candidate

for the fourth time in a row.

To win, it would be willing to pay bribes.

This story was told to British

journalists at the Sunday Times

by one of the members of the FIFA executive committee.

The deal would be simple.

One million in Jack Warner's pocket

and in exchange the CONCACAF votes are for Morocco.

The Moroccan Najib Salmi confirms

these revelations through hints.

- [Translator] Did Jack Warner get an envelope from Morocco?

- [Translator] What I think from my powers of deduction

and my intelligence which is quite average,

I think that yes, he did.

When money changes hands,

we're not there to see it.

Where did it come from?

Who gets it?

We don't know.

- [Translator] But it's probable?

- [Translator] Probable?

Of course it's probable.

- [Narrator] On election day,

the Moroccans don't doubt their victory.

Didn't they pay a million dollars for it?

- [Translator] The night of May 13th,

a Friday about nine p.m.,

we thought Morocco has the World Cup.

We counted the votes because we knew the voters.

We announced to our delegation that

the results would be made public at 10 a.m.

But at eight a.m. we learned that South Africa had won.

- [Narrator] Despite the million dollars

from Morocco he would have pocketed,

Jack Warner would have played both sides

because South Africa had offered more money to Jack Warner.

$10 million if we are to believe this document.

An official letter sent to FIFA

by the South African government.

The $10 million would apparently be destined

for the development of South African football

in the Caribbean.

But the money sent by the South Africans was

transferred into the bank accounts of CONCACAF,

accounts controlled by Jack Warner.

In London, where is an MP,

Damian Collins is a member

of the international association New FIFA Now.

- I don't believe that the money that was

sent to CONCACAF was going to be used

for football development projects

with the African diaspora in the Caribbean.

I think this was a ruse by Jack Warner

to get money into his association

and that was his price for supporting

the South African bid to host the World Cup.

- [Translator] If South Africa gave this sum,

it was payment for services rendered.

Would you give $10 million to someone for nothing?

Why did they give this money?

Was it philanthropy?

I don't believe it.

I think it's corruption.

- [Narrator] Could Sepp Blatter have not known

that South Africa had bought the World Cup in 2010?

The famous letter from the South Africans

had been sent through FIFA.

The recipient was none other than Jerome Valcke,

Blatter's faithful right arm.

- [Translator] If Blatter didn't know about

the $10 million do you think that South Africa

would have sent the $10 million through

the office of FIFA's Secretary General

to be forwarded to Jack Warner's CONCACAF?

This couldn't be done without Blatter, it's impossible,

or else Blatter would be a mere puppet.

- [Narrator] As for the obscure dealings of Jack Warner,

they were an open secret at FIFA.

- Jack Warner has had allegations

of improprieties swirling around him for years

and Sepp Blatter's always looked the other way

and never been too interested in what those

particular allegations are or the specifics.

And again, it's willful blindness on his part

and that's what's so troubling about Sepp Blatter.

- [Translator] If he didn't know,

he'd be a bad president.

When you're at the center like him,

and you see all that's happening around you,

and you pretend to know nothing about it,

either you're a weak president,

which is not his case, or you're lying.

- [Narrator] The allocation biased World Cup

had long been a well kept secret in the world of football.

The general public knew nothing of the trading and influence

which engaged some most senior officials of FIFA.

Everything changed in December 2010.

- The winner to organize the 2022 FIFA World Cup is Qatar.

- [Translator] On December 2nd, 2010,

we saw that money had triumphed.

The moment Sepp Blatter took the name

from the envelope for the 2022 World Cup

and the paper said Qatar would be

the host of the 2022 World Cup,

I think even the last doubter

realized that something was not right in all this.

- [Narrator] Qatar, a small kingdom with a tiny landmass.

Located in the wealthy Persian Gulf.

One of the last areas to be conquered for FIFA.

Qatar and its promotional campaign of $250 million.

It's extraordinarily audacious.

Qatar could pay for everything.

Even Zinedine Zidane was paid in the millions of Euros

to defend the colors of the small Emirate.

- [Translator] I think it's the moment

for the Middle East to host the World Cup.

- It just became too much after the Qatar bid,

it was you know, people said enough.

This is not a transparent organization.

How could this possibly happen?

Why is the world's most beloved sport

in the hands of this organization?

- [Narrator] On paper, Qatar didn't stand

a chance of winning their candidacy.

Due to the lack of infrastructure

and the human rights situation in the small Emirate.

And then it its far too hot

in the summer in Qatar to play football.

Temperatures can climb to over 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Chilean, Harold Mayne-Nicholls,

responsible for examining the FIFA nominations in 2010,

gave Qatar the worst rating.

His report also points out dangers

for players to participate in a World Cup

in this country in mid summer.

- The executive committee basically made this decision

and again the bidding document was specified summer.

There's no doubt about it.

It said summer.

And they voted for a summer World Cup in Qatar

knowing that the Harold Mayne-Nicholls report

suggested that it was completely inappropriate.

- [Narrator] It's too good to be true.

From the start,

Qatar's victory fuels suspicions of corruption.

And it's London that will come out

with a very first concrete accusation.

Six months after the disputed vote,

journalists from the Sunday Times say evidence supports it.

The Qatari Mohammed bin Hammam,

a member of the executive committee of FIFA,

was paid about $5 million to buy

the votes of several executive members.

In the wake of these startling revelations,

the organization has no choice

but to permanently remove Mohammed bin Hammam

from any football related activities.

- Mr. bin Hammam has been a very

controversial figure in this organization.

His activities suggest that

the Qatar World Cup award may be wholly invalid.

It can't be valid.

- [Narrator] However, the Qatar World Cup is not affected.

But in 2011, FIFA is facing an unprecedented crisis.

And in this very difficult year,

it must elect its president.

Again Sepp Blatter has fully locked in the vote.

He takes a fourth term.

Before the general public,

an outstanding tactical expert,

he pretends he's only just discovered

FIFA's terrible corruption problems.

- [Translator] I thought we were in a world of fair play,

of respect, and discipline.

But unfortunately I now see that it's not the case.

It's no longer the case because our pyramid,

the famous FIFA pyramid is now shaking at its base

and there is a danger present.

- [Narrator] But this time, the pressure is too strong.

Blatter can no longer cover up the corruption scandals.

To save face and give the image

of a FIFA ready for cleaning out,

he calls upon a man deemed incorruptible,

former U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia.

Officially Garcia has all the power

to investigate the cases for Qatar and Russia,

a country chosen to organize the World Cup in 2018.

- I see the issue and the challenge being

getting folks to come in,

getting witnesses, getting documents,

and making sure we use the authorities

that we now have to do that.

My being available and making people

available to talk and hear complaints,

I can assure you that will get done.

- Garcia was the response to the growing anger

about the severity of the allegations

into the World Cup bidding process,

the allegations that bribes had been paid to officials.

So, FIFA's response was to set up Michael Garcia.

They were seeking to try and persuade people

they were serious about reform.

- [Narrator] But in reality,

the means of action from Michael Garcia

and his five investigators are extremely limited.

- He had no judicial powers,

his, was strictly limited to people

who worked within football,

so even consultants that had worked on

the World Cup bids were not part of his investigation.

Some countries just didn't cooperate at all.

Spain and Portugal, they didn't cooperate with him.

The Qatari and the bid was limited to what he could give

and the Russians gave nothing.

The Russians wouldn't even let Michael Garcia go to Russia.

- [Narrator] Despite these obstacles,

Michael Garcia manages to make

his investigative report to FIFA.

400 pages in which he points out serious problems

that he would like to make public.

- I think that the more that is public

and the more people can see what is done

and agree with what was done

or disagree with what was done,

then those issues can be resolved

and the organization can move on.

- [Reporter] So, it should be less secretive?

- He submitted his report and the rumor

is that he was hoping that it would be made public

but instead what happened was Judge Eckert summarized it

which is a very strange thing to do with a legal document,

you wouldn't normally summarize a document.

- They wouldn't publish his full report.

They published a summary of it which in Garcia's view

did not reflect at all what he'd said in his own report.

- [Narrator] Two months later,

Michael Garcia slams the door at FIFA, angry.

- True reform doesn't come from adding rules

or creating new committee structures,

it comes from changing the culture of the organization.

That is the vision needed to light

the path forward for ethics in sports.

Thank you very much.

(applause)

- [Narrator] To date, The Garcia report

is still classified top secret

and the former U.S. Attorney is contractually

held to silence about his work with FIFA.

The willingness to change was an illusion.

Things could have continued exactly as they were

except for the determination

of the authorities of one particular country.

That country was the United States of America.

FIFA's troubles with the law began in Washington, D.C.

in this building, the headquarters of the FBI.

In 2011, U.S. investigators are on the trail of a man,

Chuck Blazer, the big boss of football in the United States.

Blazer is the Secretary General of CONCACAF,

the federation of North and South America and the Caribbean.

He works with Jack Warner, president of this federation.

Blazer is one of the most senior executives at FIFA

and he is not only known for that.

In the world of football,

he is nicknamed Mr. 10%.

- They call him Mr. 10% because he took 10%

of all of the contracts and all the deals

that he helped negotiate for CONCACAF.

And because he was the general secretary

he was behind most of the deals

and he made a lot of deals for CONCACAF

and for FIFA also.

- [Narrator] Chuck Blazer lives in New York

in the center of Manhattan on prestigious 5th Avenue.

He leads an incredible lifestyle

in one of the most famous towers in New York.

He rents several apartments.

But Chuck Blazer mixes his personal

accounts with those of the CONCACAF.

- His rent was covered, his car was covered,

his chauffeur was covered, his maid was covered.

Everything was covered by FIFA money.

- Well, he was a person of tremendous

excess in his personal life.

He traveled first class, he lived in Trump Tower

in an $18,000 a month apartment.

He had an apartment just for his cats.

That one cost $6,000 a month.

- [Narrator] Chuck Blazer diverts money from FIFA

but he pays no taxes in the United States.

This is what tips of the tax administration

and the FBI quickly suspects him

of racketeering and money laundering.

They decide to arrest Chuck Blazer.

- To save his own neck,

he ratted out every other contact

he had in CONCACAF and FIFA

he recorded secretly for years after that once

the FBI stopped him to save himself from a jail term.

- [Narrator] Blazer agrees to become a mole for the FBI.

He'll wear a wire under his suit.

- Everyone in FIFA, he had something like

44 names on his target list from the FBI

and these were people he spent

a lot of his time socializing with.

And one of the targets he threw

a birthday party for at a restaurant in Manhattan

while he was recording this guy.

So, yeah, he had very few scruples

about turning in his friends and acquaintances.

- [Narrator] From the U.S.,

the police listen to hours and hours of recordings.

They recover thousands of sensitive documents

revealing the money trail.

- These people, it appears, are using U.S. banks

to process their illicit transactions

and that's where the United States steps in.

- [Narrator] In 2011, the United States hopes

to be chosen to organize the World Cup in 2022

but it loses to Qatar.

That is why today many FIFA leaders

accuse the U.S. of wanting revenge.

Sepp Blatter himself would have supported this view.

Fact or conspiracy theory?

The U.S. authority's case is strong enough

to bring the Swiss courts to cooperate.

- Earlier today, Swiss authorities in Zurich

arrested seven of the defendants charged in this indictment

including the current president of CONCACAF.

- [Narrator] In May 2015,

on the eve of the 65th FIFA congress,

Loretta Lynch, Attorney General under Barack Obama,

launched a spectacular dragnet operation in Zurich.

Seven of FIFA's directors are arrested in a single stroke.

- Though U.S. enforcement is unpopular

in so many other areas of politics,

when the United States began investigating FIFA,

the world applauded.

I had a student in my class, a German student,

who stood up one day in class and said

on behalf of all German soccer fans

and soccer fans across Europe,

let me just say thank you United States

for what you're doing in FIFA.

I've never heard an exchange student, a foreign student,

thank the United States for anything in class before.

- [Narrator] The American justice system

lifted the veil of corruption within FIFA.

Since 1991, over $150 million has been allegedly

pocketed by senior executives of the organization

in under the table payments and paybacks.

At the end of September 2015,

in the new turn of events,

Sepp Blatter is targeted for the first time

with criminal proceedings in Switzerland

for mismanagement and breech of trust.

Immediately some of the biggest FIFA sponsors,

including Coca-Cola, the oldest,

and McDonald's demand Blatter's resignation.

Between 2010 and 2014,

Coca-Cola and McDonald's each paid $30 million a year

to FIFA for marketing and sponsorship rights.

- The sponsors have been in bed with FIFA from the beginning

and they've both benefited massively

from this exponential growth.

- The sponsors, yes, put their money behind FIFA

while knowing that it was systemically corrupt.

- [Narrator] The goose that laid the golden egg

has now become a most disgraceful organization.

- People will put pressure on companies like Coca-Cola

particularly in the markets in Europe and the United States

to say, well, you've got to speak up, you've got to act,

you've got to threaten or actually withdraw

your financial support from FIFA

otherwise we won't buy your products.

And I think that is where the pressure has come.

- [Narrator] One brand is at the heart of the legal turmoil,

it is even accused of having paid under the table

to enjoy the visibility of the World Cup.

This story takes place in Brazil.

Five times world champion,

the national team set generations

of fans dreaming worldwide.

In 1996, Nike pays 160 million Euros

to put its swoosh on the Brazilian player's shirts.

But Nike would also pay stratospheric bribes

to the leaders of the Brazilian federation

officially for renegotiation of their contract.

- [Translator] A Brazilian company that served as middle man

received over $40 million for doing nothing.

It's a farce because the Nike contract already existed.

It was just renewed.

What's this company doing if the contract already existed?

The two parties already knew each other.

In fact, it's a means for Ricardo Teixeira,

president of the Brazilian federation

and his successors to keep for themselves 10%

of the sum of the contracts.

- [Narrator] Ricardo Teixeira,

president of Brazilian football between 1989 and 2012.

When he is made head, Teixeira is none other

than the son in law of Joao Havelange, then FIFA president.

Targeted by various affairs,

Teixeira has to resign from his post.

- [Translator] Brazil should have been the first country

to show an example of decent, honest, dignified football.

But in reality it's the exact opposite.

It's the most corrupt country.

- [Narrator] In 2014, hosting the World Cup in Brazil

costs $11 billion to Brazilian taxpayers.

It is the most expensive one ever organized.

In Brazil, for example,

the renovation of the stadium cost nearly $900 million,

triple the amount originally planned.

Much of this money was diverted

obviously using a system

of phony companies and fake invoices.

During their dragnet in Zurich in May 2015,

U.S. police arrest Jose Maria Marin,

Ricardo Teixeira's successor at the head

of the Brazilian football federation,

also indicted for corruption.

- [Translator] All Brazilians are grateful

to the FBI for their work.

Today, the former president of the Brazilian

Football Confederation is in prison.

And personally I believe this will have a domino effect.

- [Narrator] In Brasilia, Romario sees this opportunity

to request the establishment

of a parliamentary commission of inquiry.

He was appointed chairman.

- [Translator] There is hope the CPI commission

will clean up Brazilian football.

But we know our politicians and the influence they have.

I'm very skeptical.

I've worked on this subject for years.

I've already denounced corruption affairs in the CBF.

Today, it's hard to say I believe in a resolution.

- [Narrator] Will FIFA succeed in organizing a big cleanup?

In the beginning of 2016,

the FIFA's leadership is done for.

Sepp Blatter is suspended as president

and risks legal charges.

Before leaving office,

Blatter took care to bring down

his successor Michel Platini.

Platini, the friend turned rival

from this famous press conference.

- [Translator] I said listen, Sepp,

we started together in 1998 in Singapore.

We agreed on FIFA's future.

We have won together, we've worked together,

today I'm asking that you quit FIFA,

that you resign.

Leave FIFA because its image is bad.

We can no longer go on like this.

- [Narrator] But since, Michel Platini is caught up

by a curious story of money.

There's talk of a transfer of almost two million Euros

received from Sepp Blatter in 2011

with no contract signed between the two men.

Michel Platini's candidacy disintegrates in mid flight.

February 26th 2016 in Zurich.

Five candidates are vying to replace Sepp Blatter

but their pedigrees are puzzling.

They all came up within the Sepp Blatter system.

- You can't proceed with the current leadership

and expect a different outcome.

I don't think we can allow people to stand up

and say I have been involved in FIFA for the last 10 years

through all of these scandals but now,

now I'm going to change everything.

I don't think that's credible.

- What FIFA needs is new leaders, new blood, and new ideas.

We have a cultural problem at FIFA.

FIFA doesn't need more rules,

they don't need more committees,

they need a cultural fix.

The only way to do that is to bring

in people from the outside.

- [Narrator] During the course of our investigation,

we solicited Sepp Blatter

and several FIFA officials on numerous occasions.

Our requests for interviews remain unanswered.

(electronic music)