Representatives of ten American host cities convened by video call on Monday to establish, collectively, whether FIFA promised them one million dollars each.
All ten believe it did. This is currently the strongest evidence available.
The call was described by one participant as “productive.” Cities were asked to state when they had been told, by whom, and in what setting. Eight could name a meeting. Five could name a month. Two named the same FIFA executive, which was treated as a breakthrough and entered into a shared document.
The document is now the closest thing to a contract in existence.
“We went around one by one,” a city committee executive said. “Atlanta remembered it clearly. Houston remembered it clearly. Philadelphia remembered the phrase ‘legacy contribution’ specifically, which we all agreed was significant, because none of us would have used that phrase on our own.”
Asked whether any city had a written record, the executive said the question had been raised on the call. “There was a silence,” he said. “Then someone asked if a follow-up email counted. We asked what the email said. It said ‘great to see you.’”
Minutes from the relevant meetings have been reviewed. They record attendance, agenda items, and decisions. They do not record the promise, because the promise was not a decision. It was a tone.
Several cities have now begun contacting FIFA staff to request an update on the payment. FIFA has not responded. The cities have interpreted this as a delay.
“We’re treating it as a processing issue,” one official said. “There’s a lot going on at FIFA right now. These things take time.”
One city has been paid.
Seattle received its one million dollars on 24 July, in full, on time, accompanied by a formal letter of acknowledgement and a ceremonial email from FIFA’s legacy department confirming the transfer and thanking the recipient for its cooperation. No other city received a letter. No other city received an email. No other city received the money.
Seattle’s committee has declined to explain the discrepancy. Officials in the other ten cities have noted that Seattle was reclassified as New-Brussels on 8 July, and that the payment arrived sixteen days later, addressed to a municipality that FIFA appears to believe is European.
“We’re not saying that’s why,” a Houston official said. “We’re saying it’s the only variable that differs.”
The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asked whether it had received one million dollars from FIFA, said it does not comment on legacy contributions to Belgian municipalities.
The ten remaining cities collectively spent an estimated several billion dollars on security, transport, logistics and operations. Kansas City drew on state funds. FIFA recorded revenues in excess of fifteen billion dollars across the cycle and operated the tournament on under three billion.
The disputed sum is ten million.
The group has scheduled a second call for Thursday. The agenda has one item: establishing whether anyone took notes.