Ex-FIFA vice-president Alfredo Hawit pleads guilty

Former FIFA vice-president Alfredo Hawit has pleaded guilty to racketeering and corruption charges relating to the awarding of contracts for media and marketing rights to CONCACAF tournaments and FIFA World Cup matches.

Hawit, also the former president of CONCACAF and chief of the Honduran Football Federation (FENAFUTH) was arrested by Swiss police in Zurich at the request of the United States last December as part of a wide-ranging probe into football corruption.

In federal court in Brooklyn on Monday, the 64-year-old admitted one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of wire fraud conspiracy; and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Prosecutors told the court that Hawit negotiated and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes linked to the sale of marketing rights for events since 2008, including the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Champions League and the Honduras national team's qualifying matches for the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Hawit faces a maximum prison terms of 20 years for each count and has agreed to forfeit $950,000.