CONMEBOL President Domínguez Accused of Receiving FIFAgate-Linked Funds

The international football community is once again grappling with allegations of corruption, this time casting a shadow over Alejandro Domínguez, the current president of CONMEBOL and a vice president of FIFA. A report by The New York Times details an ethics complaint accusing Domínguez and another high-ranking official within the South American confederation of receiving substantial payments derived from funds recovered in the wake of the FIFAgate scandal.

According to the whistleblower cited in the report, the payments allegedly exceeded five million dollars. This revelation surfaces at a particularly sensitive time, just weeks before the 2026 World Cup kicks off across North America. The accusations suggest that senior FIFA officials have been aware of the complaint for over a year, though the status of the proceedings remains unclear.

CONMEBOL has officially denied any knowledge of an ethics complaint, while FIFA and Domínguez himself have remained silent in response to media inquiries. The funds in question are reportedly linked to money reclaimed from accounts previously controlled by former CONMEBOL leaders implicated in the 2015 corruption scandal. Documents reviewed by The New York Times point to agreements involving the confederation and the family of the late former president Nicolás Leoz, which facilitated the return of over $50 million from accounts in Paraguay and Switzerland.

Domínguez, a Paraguayan national, ascended to the presidency of CONMEBOL in 2016, taking the helm after the organization was severely damaged by the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into bribery and illegal payments in international football. The timing of these new allegations, particularly concerning funds linked to the very scandal that reshaped global football governance, raises serious questions about the integrity of the sport's leadership.