FIFA Loss Triples to $369 Million on Mounting Costs of Scandal
- Global soccer’s governing body makes second straight loss
- FIFA still suffering affects of 2015 corruption crisis
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JUNE 15: A general view of the stadium during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group F match between Argentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina at Maracana on June 15, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Photographer: Clive Rose/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
FIFA, the governing body of global soccer, lost $369 million in 2016, triple the losses in the year before, according to financial statements released Friday.
The organization blamed the ballooning loss on a new accounting policy, increased investment in soccer and "one-off extraordinary expenses," which are likely to mean legal fees related to the 2015 international corruption scandal that nearly destroyed FIFA. In the last two years, FIFA has spent nearly $130 million on lawyers and court costs.