FIFA leadership with corruption, bribery, and vote-rigging related to the election of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and the organization's decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively. These allegations led to the indictments of nine high-ranking FIFA officials and five corporate executives by the U.S. Department of Justice on charges including racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering. On 27 May 2015, several of these officials were arrested by Swiss authorities, who were launching a simultaneous but separate criminal investigation into how the organization awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Those among these officials who
2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or Lothar Matthäus, Pelé and FIFA president Sepp Blatter side-by-side with pop singer Shakira. The top three nominees for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or were: The following 20 men were also in contention for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2011: The top three nominees for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year were: The following seven women were also in contention for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year: The day after the awards ceremony, Spanish newspaper "Marca" reported that none of the four captains of the Spanish women's national team had voted for the Women's World Player