Germany's winning bid for the 2006 World Cup was aided by bribes paid to FIFA executive committee members, the German newsweekly Der Spiegel reported Friday. Spiegel said the German bidding committee set up a slush fund of 10.3 million Swiss francs (about $16 million at that time) that was contributed in a private capacity by former Adidas chief Robert Louis-Dreyfus. The money was used to secure the votes of four Asian representatives on FIFA's 24-member executive committee before the tournament was awarded to Germany on July 6, 2000, the magazine said. More...