200
Fashion Jobs
SAMSOE
Account Manager no (Menswear)
Permanent · OSLO
BEST SELLER
Bestseller Søker Business Controller Til Vero Moda
Permanent · OSLO
ABBOTT
Territory Manager
Permanent ·
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) -Tønsberg - Farmandstredet
Permanent · TØNSBERG
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Kristiansand - Sandens
Permanent · KRISTIANSAND
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Horten - Sjøsiden Shopping Center
Permanent · HORTEN
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Down Town Kjøpesenter
Permanent · PORSGRUNN
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Kristiansand - Sørlandssenteret
Permanent · KRISTIANSAND
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Bergen - Oasen Senter
Permanent · BERGEN
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Hafrsfjord - Amfi Madla
Permanent · HAFRSFJORD
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Straume - Sartor Storsenter
Permanent · STRAUME
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Stavanger - Søregata
Permanent · STAVANGER
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Kilden Kjøpesenter
Permanent · STAVANGER
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Bergen Galleriet
Permanent · BERGEN
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Bergen - Horisont
Permanent · BERGEN
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Sandnes - Kvadrat
Permanent · SANDNES
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Kongsberg - Stortorvet
Permanent · KONGSBERG
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Sandefjord - Hvaltrovet
Permanent · SANDEFJORD
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Arendal - Alti Senter
Permanent · ARENDAL
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Drammen - Magasinet
Permanent · DRAMMEN
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Drammen - Gulskogen Senter
Permanent · DRAMMEN
RITUALS
Butikkselger (Sommerhjelp) - Bryne - m44 Kjøpesenter
Permanent · BRYNE
By
Reuters
Published
Nov 26, 2015
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Scandal-plagued FIFA watches sent to charity, to be sold

By
Reuters
Published
Nov 26, 2015

Soccer world body FIFA, mired in the worst graft scandal in its history, is giving 48 Swiss watches worth up to $25,000 each to a children's soccer charity after a year cajoling officials who received them from Brazilian soccer authorities to give them up.

The watches were left on the hotel beds of football officials including members of FIFA's Executive Committee and representatives of national football associations attending a FIFA Congress in Brazil before the 2014 World Cup.

AFP


FIFA, though dogged by corruption accusations for many years, was pitched into crisis in May when police raided a Zurich hotel on the eve of a congress arresting several officials. Fourteen, including two former vice-presidents, have been indicted for corruption in the United States.

FIFA's Ethics Committee, which last year determined the gifts handed out by the Brazilian Football Association violated its ethics rules, said on Thursday it had donated the Parmigiani-brand watches to Germany's streetfootballworld, to be sold to benefit the group's youth programs in Brazil.

Getting the watches back was a struggle, a FIFA spokesman said. Some people pleaded they had given the watches to charity, or to a friend. Others offered to pay cash.

"We did the utmost to receive every single watch. It was hard work," the spokesman said. "We didn't let someone get out with a weak excuse."

Initial reports indicated 65 watches were handed out. Eventually, the Brazilian Football Association said only 57 people confirmed receipt.

Six people said they had lost the timepieces, the FIFA spokesman said, adding three did not arrive for various reasons, cutting the total of returns to 48.

DEPOSIT BOX IN BERLIN

FIFA said it saw no legal grounds to pursue those who said they never received the watches.

The Ethics Committee's investigatory chamber said Thursday it now considered the matter closed, while broader corruption allegations continue to plague the organization.

FIFA has since suspended its president, Sepp Blatter, and European soccer boss Michel Platnini, over a 2 million Swiss franc payment.

Parmigiani watches are made in Switzerland's luxury watchmaking region north of Geneva, with independent appraisals putting a market value of just over $25,000 for each timepiece handed out by the Brazilians.

Streetfootballworld network director Vladimir Borkovic said Thursday he was told they were valued at $19,000 to $25,000, depending on the model.

They're now in a safety deposit box in a Berlin bank.

"They're in a safe place," Borkovic told Reuters, adding he hopes to dispose of them at auction or at dinner events over the next few months. "We have a responsibility to put this kind of wealth where we and FIFA feel it belongs."

At $25,000 each, the proceeds would total $1.2 million.

Whether buyers will pay a "scandal premium" -- or if a tawdry provenance could cut their worth -- was something weighed by streetfootballworld officials, but Borkovic was optimistic buyers would consider the Brazilian children who will benefit.

"It could go both directions," said Borkovic. "The earlier we do it, the better we will be able to serve the young people in Brazil."




 

© Thomson Reuters 2024 All rights reserved.