耐克被疑捲入國際足聯腐敗醜聞

The growing scandal over corruption at Fifa is threatening to entangle Nike, the US sportswear company that is a sponsor of the Brazilian national football squad, and other multinational sponsors of the game in Latin America.

不斷髮酵的國際足聯(Fifa)腐敗醜聞可能牽涉到巴西國家足球隊的贊助商——美國運動裝企業耐克(Nike)，以及在拉美贊助足球運動的其他跨國企業。

US prosecutors allege in an indictment that an intermediary, a company controlled by Brazilian businessman José Hawilla, helped secure a landmark $160m, 10-year sponsorship deal in 1996 between an unnamed sportswear company and CBF, the country’s football federation, by paying bribes.

美國檢方在一份起訴書中指控，1996年，由巴西商人若澤•哈維拉(José Hawilla)控股的一家公司曾通過行賄，幫助一家未指明的運動裝企業與巴西足球協會(CBF)達成一筆具有里程碑意義的價值1.60億美元、爲期10年的贊助合同。

Prosecutors did not name Nike in their indictment, filed to a US district court, referring to it as “sportswear company A” or “E” in two separate documents. They have not accused it of any crime.

在提交給美國一地區法庭的起訴書中，檢方並沒有列出耐克的名字，只是在兩份文件中分別將其稱爲“運動裝企業A”或“E”。檢方並未指控該公司涉嫌任何犯罪。

But the deal by the unnamed company described in the two indictments appears identical to the one signed by Nike and CBF in 1996.

但兩份起訴書提及的由這家未指明的企業達成的協議，似乎就是耐克與巴西足協在1996年簽訂的一項協議。

Nike said only that “Nike believes in ethical and fair play in both business and sport and strongly opposes any form of manipulation or bribery. We have been co-operating, and will continue to co-operate, with the authorities.” But the website of Traffic, Mr Hawilla's company, mentions the deal in 1996 with Nike as one of its landmark transactions. Nike’s sponsorship of the Brazilian team was also at the centre of a congressional inquiry into football in Brazil in 2001. The Fifa scandal and the allegations swirling around the Nike contract will be closely watched by companies interested in Latin America’s lucrative sports advertising market.

耐克只表示：“耐克公司在商業和體育領域均奉行道德與公平辦事原則，堅決反對任何形式的操縱或賄賂行爲。我們一直都在（並將繼續）與有關部門合作。”但哈維拉旗下公司Traffic的網站將1996年與耐克的協議描述爲其具有里程碑意義的交易之一。耐克贊助巴西國家足球隊一事還是2001年巴西國會針對巴西足壇調查的核心。國際足聯醜聞以及圍繞耐克的指控，將受到對拉美利潤豐厚的體育廣告市場感興趣的企業的密切關注。