Daughter of World Cup official had �2m put into account - Telegraph

Daughter of World Cup official had �2m put into account - Telegraph

The 10-year-old daughter of Ricardo Teixeira, a former Fifa executive committee member, received payment in 2011

Ricardo Teixeira has recently moved to Miami after Brazilian police began an investigation into his activities Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Claire Newell, Holly Watt and Ben Bryant

8:00PM BST 18 Apr 2014

The 10-year-old daughter of a Fifa executive who helped to select World Cup host nations had more than £2 million put into a savings account set up in her name, the Telegraph can disclose.

Antonia Wigand Teixeira, the daughter of the Brazilian representative on the Fifa executive committee, received the money in 2011. Her father, Ricardo, who stepped down from the committee in 2012, has recently moved to Miami after Brazilian police began an investigation into his activities. The disclosure will raise questions about the finances of some Fifa officials who participated in the decision to award Russia and Qatar the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

Michael Garcia, the joint chief investigator of Fifa’s ethics committee, is looking at the bidding process and is understood to be examining business deals connected to several current and former executive committee members.

The decision to award Qatar the World Cup has been controversial. The successful bid team has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing during the bidding process but Fifa has faced repeated calls to rerun the contest as concerns grow over the decision to hold the football competition in a desert state where temperatures hover around 104F (40C).

The money transfer to Mr Teixeira’s daughter, whose account is registered in Rio, is thought to have been made by Sandro Rosell. Mr Teixeira has had a long-standing relationship involving a number of reported business deals with Mr Rosell, who was previously head of Nike Brazil and until early this year was President of Barcelona Football Club.