Wednesday was quite an extraordinary day in the world of sport. At the crack of dawn, six of FIFA’s officials were arrested at a hotel in Zurich, in a joint operation between Swiss authorities and the Federal Bureau for Investigation. An investigation spanning three years, probing three decades of corruption, resulted in a 47-page charge sheet which saw 14 FIFA officials and non-executives charged. The full indictment is 164 pages long.

It was quite a day, and the consequences could be far more widespread than that. This is only the tip of the iceberg, so breaking it down into what we know for sure is a good start.

FIFA essentially reported themselves

Most of this came about through FIFA handing over Michael Garcia’s report into allegedly corrupt bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. FIFA must feel confident enough that there can be no evidence of dubious voting if they handed over the report so easily. But part of the investigation also comes from Chuck Blazer, the man who rents a Trump Tower apartment for his cats. The FBI had been investigating FIFA for quite some time and it is believed that they waited until now to arrest and question everyone because they knew everyone they needed to have a word with would be in one place ahead of the FIFA congress.

The high-profile raid on Wednesday was as courteous as you could expect from the Swiss. The hotel staff shielded the arrested officials with blankets to protect their identity, and everyone was gently walked out at the crack of dawn. There was also a raid of FIFA’s HQ in Zurich, as well as a raid by the FBI on the CONCACAF headquarters in Miami. FIFA spokesman Walter de Gregorio was sent out to face the press in Zurich alone after the arrests and insisted that this was a “good” thing for FIFA to get their act cleaned up. The number of times he inhaled through his teeth and sighed during journalists’ questions was a small indication that FIFA might have been blindsided a bit, however, despite knowing that something like this might be coming.

Photo: Walter De Gregorio, FIFA Director of Communications and Public Affairs, answers journalists’ question during a press conference at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 27, 2015. EPA/ENNIO LEANZA

The FIFA Congress will go ahead

FIFA is due to hold its presidential elections on Friday, with incumbent Sepp Blatter and challenger Prince Ali bin al Hussein going head-to-head. FIFA confirmed on Wednesday that the elections and the congress would go ahead. Transparency International has called for Blatter to step down and for the elections to be postponed, but he seems to keep on going, once again. While Blatter was widely expected to be re-elected, however, the latest crisis could tempt a few to switch sides.

The selection of South Africa as 2010 World Cup hosts is also under scrutiny

The release from the US Department of Justice details a number of charges, including racketeering conspiracy and corruption. It mentions South Africa in the paragraph referring to racketeering conspiracies, stating: “Other alleged schemes relate to the payment and receipt of bribes and kickbacks, in connection with the sponsorship of CBF by a major US sportswear company, the selection of the host country for the 2010 World Cup and the 2011 FIFA presidential election.” You can read more about how exactly South Africa was allegedly involved in bribery here.

There is a lot of money involved

The kind of money that is involved here may have the 80’s child conjuring up images of Scrooge McDuck diving into a vault of cash. A £65-million fraud campaign dating back three decades, a Brazilian marketing chief who has admitted to fraud charges and will pay back around £100 million, and much, much more from others who have admitted to charges. All this has exchanged hands over the last few years. The USA says as much as $110 million has been diverted and laundered.

There are two separate charges, one from the US and one from Swiss authorities

There is an important distinction to be made regarding what happened on Tuesday. The US Department of Justice, in partnership with Swiss authorities, completed the arrests, which relate to widespread racketeering, mostly for tournaments and charges in North and South America. Those arrested on Tuesday will be extradited to the United States.

But the Swiss authorities also opened a criminal investigation case into the bidding for and awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Swiss authorities seized electronic data from FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich and opened criminal proceedings against individuals on “the suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 football World Cups”.

FIFA says that there will not be a revote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup

Never say never, but as things stand, despite investigations into dodgy voting, the World Cups in both Russia and Qatar will go ahead as planned. Again, remember that FIFA handed over documents, so they might feel pretty secure. How the rest of this plays out will depend on what the Swiss authorities have, the charges against officials and the subsequent trial. All we can say is: ¯_(?)_/¯. DM

Main photo: File picture dated 26 September 2014 of FIFA President Joseph Blatter during a press conference following a FIFA Executive Committee meeting in Zurich, Switzerland. The United States Justice department on 27 May 2015 names nine football officials indicted on corruption charges, including current top officials at governing body FIFA, which is due to hold its Congress and presidential election on 29 May. FIFA president Joseph Blatter is not one of the nine indicted persons. EPA/STEFFEN SCHMIDT DATABASE