Controversial World Cup watches will be handed over to charity

FIFA’s ethics committee said on Thursday that it had demanded the watches be turned over, and then redistributed them to an worldwide non-profit organisation, streetfootballworld.

Of the 65 watches only 48 have been returned, but they have now been donated to the streetfootballworld charity, which plans to plow the proceeds of their auction into Brazilian soccer projects.

The Parmigiani watches – valued at more than $26,000 each – were handed out in Sao Paulo to members of FIFA’s often-discredited executive committee, presidents of national federations whose teams played at the 32-team tournament and officials from South American federations.

Fifa’s ethics committee is investigating their conduct and they could face a much longer suspensions when the final verdict in the case is announced, probably in December.

Despite the FIFA’s reputational problems — even its president Sepp Blatter is now provisionally banned – the charity, which has worked with the world governing body for the last 10 years, remains comfortable working with the organization.

“After contacting all potential recipients, 48 watches were returned to the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee”, the statement reads. It allows only for gifts of “symbolic or trivial value”. Several of the officials who got the bags reported the gifts as required, and several returned the watches.

Parmigiani timepieces, each worth US$25,000 were left on hotel beds of football officials attending a FIFA Congress in Brazil before the 2014 World Cup as part of their goodie bags for attending the congress.

A total of 65 watches were supposed to be presented but only 48 people, including now suspended UEFA President Michel Platini, received the gift and subsequently, passed the watches on to the ethics committee.

“I had absolutely no interest in that watch”, D’Hooghe told The AP.