German magazine Der Spiegel reported Friday that the committee leading Germany’s bid for the 2006 World Cup created a slush fund that bought four votes to award the soccer championship games to their country. In 2000, the then-CEO of Adidas, which outfitted the German national team, loaned the committee the equivalent of $7.6 million. The money was then used to buy four votes belonging to Asian representatives on the 24-person FIFA committee that selected the tournament’s host country.
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