FIFA: English MP accuses Sheikh Salman of having fraudulently used aid money in 2009

"In August 2009, Sheikh Salman, then Bahrain Football Association president, was accused of using FIFA-financed sports development budgets to fund his unsuccessful campaign for the FIFA Executive Committee election. A leaked letter received by the Al Bilad newspaper (Bahrain) claimed that Sheikh Salman had spent upwards of 850,000 dinars (approximately €2.05m) on his campaign and that some of this money had come from FIFA-financed sports development projects," said Damian Collins, MP in the UK House of Commons, on 23/02/2016.

Damian Collins said that the funds used by Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, AFC president and candidate for the FIFA presidency (election on 26/02/2016 in Zurich, SUI), were allocated to the Bahraini federation as part of the Goal programme. Established in 1999, this programme aided federations who did not have the means to obtain the tools necessary for their operations and their development. The Goal programme has funded 735 projects worldwide since 1999, including six in Bahrain.

Sheikh Salman denied the allegations of Damian Collins in a statement…